Medic Effect
by defiasstone2
Summary: Born on Mindoir, John Shepard grew up fast after the deaths of his family. Where as many expected him to become a warrior or soldier, Shepard became a outstanding medic and survivor above all else. How will a man who has and will put the lives of his allies before the orders of his commanders survive in the days to come? New take on the canon events and Shep/multi.
1. Mindoir Memories and Eden Hell

**A/N: I know I am far, far too late to this party, but I blame the fact that I had shelved this story a long time ago until I was asked to contribute ideas to a ME crossover. So here it is: **

**Mainly Paragon Shepard but still a realist when it comes to decisions (will do things like drop a bunch of crates on people for example rather than nobly fighting them on equal terms). **

**Medic class: Mainly focussed on Leading and supporting strike teams with the use of biotics and healing tech skills, Medic class does not have many offensive abilities so Shepard has to use his weapons and team to deal with enemies. Based on the subclass of sentinel but I wanted to give it a unique stand point.**

**Other points: Will be a harem story, but not a rapidly developing one, this will be a slow development which is not the focus of the story. There will be some large divergences from Canon, but I will leave which bits for you to figure out as we go.**

**And with that bit of required preamble out of the way, here we go!**

Medic effect:

Chapter 1: Memories of Mindoir and Eden Hell.

_Ambassador Udina: "What about Shepard, he grew up in the colonies after all." _

_Captain Anderson: "He is no stranger to hardship; his family was killed in the attack on Mindoir. Shepard made his first kill that day as well." _

_Admiral Hackett: "He proved himself during the Blitz, held one of our key defense towers almost singlehandedly until reinforcements arrived, saved a whole lot of lives."_

_Captain Anderson: "Indeed, he is the only reason Elysium is still standing. There is no question of his technical competence, fully trained biotic after his powers were discovered on Mindoir, doctorate in medicine and field triage as well as his N7 training and mission experience."_

_Ambassador Udina: "True, we cannot doubt his courage either."_

_Captain Anderson: "Humanity needs a hero and having served with him for two years now, I can definitely say he is the best we have."_

_Ambassador Udina: "Very well, I will make the call..."_

_Extract from the logs of Captain Anderson, on the subject of Shepard, the second human Spectre candidate._

*Flashback*

It was a chilly blustery day in the middle of Mindoir's Autumnal season but young John Shepard, aged 14 years and 13 days, didn't care about the cold wind at all as he held his mother's hand tightly. He walked quickly to keep up with her longer stride as she led him into the local town of Thorpen Grange, excitement bubbling in his chest at the thought of the evening to come.

There was to be a band playing and carnival games after the parade of floats and other performers, even more than usual he thought excitedly. His father had gone ahead to secure them a good spot along the procession, as the elder Shepard did not want to rush his pregnant wife more than he had to, with her so close to her third trimester. Looking up at his mother and her slightly bulging belly, John couldn't help but grin, he was going to be a big brother and from what he had seen amongst his friends, big brothers were the coolest people ever.

John was still musing on the idea of how great things were going to be soon when he caught sight of his dad stood waving at the two of them from the front of the crowd. As a small farming community, it was not often that they got the opportunity to hold such events; usually they kept to themselves on their own little communities. The celebration was for the fifth anniversary of the colonies founding, and everyone was getting into it, with the older members of the community having practiced for months before to become a passable marching band and were going to be leading the small parade that was passing through the central town of the small colony.

As they approached his dad John's grin widened, his dad clearing them a space in the crowd, gently but firmly with his large arms. John knew his dad had been in the military, something that had been explained to him when he asked about his dad's bad limp, which the elder Shepard had obtained during the first contact war with the Turian forces of the council. Despite the difficulties his Dad maintained his fitness as best he could which was one of the reasons people shifting at his insistence, his height at 6"5 another as he towered over those around him.

His mother embraced his Dad joyfully and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. She opened her mouth to say something when all of a sudden; explosions began to be heard in the distance. Looking around John's sharp eyes picked out strange shapes as they began to appear in the sky, dark and menacing shapes that glowed for a moment before going dark. The explosions came again, this time closer than before and it didn't take much effort to realise what was happening from the stories his Dad had told him as a child.

Before John could ask any questions or let people know what he had seen, he found himself being swept away along with his mother, his father dragging the two of them away from the agitated crowd who obviously hadn't realised what was going on quite yet. His Dad was heading towards the outskirts as fast as he could, his head turning from side to side rapidly as if looking out for something, the look of fear and panic something John had never imagined he would see on the unflappable man.

When his Dad spoke his voice was low and grating, which was probably due to the running on his injured leg. 'We must keep going, head to the fields, we can lose them in there.' John's mother winced as another explosion happened, much closer this time, followed by a series of pained cries. "Paul, what is happening? Who is attacking us?" Paul Shepard, his Dad, shook his head as the fear from earlier was replaced with anger as he continued pulling them along with a hurried insistence. "Batarians, most likely slavers, though I saw at least one frigate there, we must hurry out of here, right now." There was an explosion sound as John took one more look at the colony, then everything was consumed in white light.

*End Flashback*

"Commander? Commander Shepard!" The now 27 year old John Shepard was awake in an instant, his eyes fixing themselves on Corporal Jenkins, who was the one who had been calling to him whilst he was asleep. Shepard was glad that Jenkins had been focussed on his face; it meant his instinctual grabbing of the knife that was always attached to his hip had probably gone unnoticed. Keeping a weapon to hand at all times was a bad habit, but one that had saved his life more than once. He knew he had avoided an awkward moment when Jenkins spoke again without pause or change of inflection. "Are you alright sir? You were jerking around quite heavily just now. "

Shepard nodded that he was as he sat up straight, even though he knew he probably looked a state at that moment, red eyed and soaked in sweat "I am fine Corporal, just some old memories of times that I would rather forget. What is it you need from me?" Of course John wasn't being entirely truthful when he said he wished to forget those memories, it was the ones that occurred after he didn't want to remember. He was grateful when Jenkins dropped the subject with a nod, the young marine had no actual wartime experience but had heard all the stories of John's past, so was probably imagining what horrors were inside John's head when he slept.

"Of course Commander no need to explain further. I am here as I was ordered to inform you that captain Anderson and the Turian will be expecting you on the bridge shortly, we are heading through the gate in 5 minutes and they wish to discuss the formalities of the visit to Eden Prime with you. Do you wish for me to inform them that you will be there ASAP?" At Shepard's tired nod Jenkins then saluted and left his bunk room without another word. John reasserted his grip on his surroundings, reminding himself that he was not on Mindoir; he was aboard the SSV Normandy inside his quarters, which he shared with Navigator Pressley on a vague 12 hour shift.

The room space was on such a shift due to the limited space on the Frigate, only Captain Anderson got his own personal sleeping space and even the size of it was something very unique to the experimental human ship. Knowing that he was expected Shepard quickly ran through two of the mind exercises he had taught himself to focus his mind as he heaved himself out of the bed space and into the Normandy quarters.

He hurriedly headed to the shower area, clearing his mind of the last vestiges of the emotions and stray thoughts brought on by the memories, activating the quick clean mode on one of the shower heads with practiced ease, quickly being covered in premixed soapy warm water that he quickly washed himself down with. A minute later John was out by his locker, drying himself as quickly as he could with the nano-towel that he had laid out before taking a rest a few hours before.

John then reached into the locker and began equipping himself with the N7 armour he had received as part of his first promotion, his reward for his actions during the Skyllian Blitz against the Batarian slavers who had tried to take the planet and its inhabitants for themselves. John chuckled morbidly to himself as he thought of his current situation; it was certainly interesting, being the first official N7 medic in history, the only lifesaver amongst the nest of assassins and elite warriors. From there, after five years of earning the respect of his team with blood, sweat and a few close calls, John had been plucked from his position to be 'promoted' to the position of Commander of the newest and fastest Earth built ship cadre of marines?

Logically John knew most of the reason for his promotion was due to public pressure on the politicians back on Earth as opposed to the punishment that he had taken the secondment as originally. That logic fell short of being able to explain the choice of mission they were on however, or the presence of one of the fabled council spectre operatives overseeing its completion.

"This is a hell of a force for a simple shakedown mission." John muttered to himself as he attached his custom crafted N7 right gauntlet in place on his armour. It was almost twice the size and weight of his left gauntlet, but that was because it contained enough medical supplies, surgical nanites and of course medi-gel to look after a small platoon of humans if necessary, along with a small group of the more difficult to treat council races.

It also contained a prototype device which he along with several techies in the N7 division had worked on for almost a year, something he wasn't quite ready to let the others know about quite yet. It could turn omni-gel into further supplements of medi-gel, though it had a long cool down period after each use. With all his armour in place, he reached down and grabbed his helmet in one hand whilst the other picked up and stowed his pistol on its mag-locked point on his thigh, shifting the knife that was already there to the outside of the armour plating. Quite a few of the crew probably thought him paranoid, but after the events of Mindoir, he wasn't going anywhere unarmed again.

*Flashback*

His father's face, twisted in agony as his injured leg gives out from under him, a laughing Batarian standing over him, covered in blood and gore, his mother, screaming for him as she is dragged away, the Batarian raising a bloody knife with a malicious glee clear on its features as it stepped over his father's corpse towards him...

*Flashback End*

John snapped back into reality finding himself in the elevator on the way to the command deck, his body having followed the semi familiar path without his conscious guidance. John shook his head as he ran through his mind clearing exercise once more, he needed to be focused, no time for memories. The elevator door opened with a quiet bing, exposing him to the large semi-open area that served as the Normandy's command deck. A raised dais, where the Captain stood and gave orders, overlooked the other crew pits which contained work stations for the various sections of the ship.

John stepped out of the elevator without as much as a pause, meeting eyes with Captain Anderson straight away. The two had worked together before on several N7 operations before the two of them had been moved to the Normandy and they were quite good friends outside of missions, though Shepard secretly thought that Anderson had something to do with his transfer here. Remembering that this was technically mission time John snapped off a salute to both him and the Spectre who was stood next to him.

The Turian went by the name Nihilus who straightened from looking into the galaxy map area to return the salute, reminding Shepard of why he liked the Turian who actually tried to fit in with their command structure rather than just dominating it as the Spectres he had encountered in the past had done. Anderson wasted no time in formalities beyond returning the salute with a textbook classic response of his own, his lack of his usual welcoming and friendly attitude showing the true urgency of the matter. "Commander, we have a situation on Eden Prime."

He gestured as Shepard walked up onto the dais, looking down onto the galaxy map as it went from a general overview of the Milky Way and focused on the planet that Anderson had mentioned. "All data feeds from the planet went silent about 15 minutes ago. We thought initially that it might just be solar activity or trouble with a transmitter, but then we received this heavily jammed message at the same time. It took some work but this is it after the techies cleaned up as much as they could whilst Jenkins went and fetched you." With a press of a button the speakers began playing the sound of someone's voice.

"Station, we've just received a large ship through the mass relay, it hasn't been responding to hails as it approaches. Is this some kind of drill?" Shepard's ears picked up the sound of explosions in the background a few seconds before the voice seemed to notice and react to them. "Dear god, all units, we are under attack, report to battle stations..." There was a jump in the feed and then there was a video that came to life on the galaxy map display, John recognised gunfire and explosions on screen blurry as the feed was, the view having changed to that of what he assumed was an officers helmet.

"We are under heavy attack... Many casualties!" At this point the officer was pushed into cover by a female marine as more explosions occurred overhead. John was impressed by the marine he could see on the screen, showing no fear as she stood quickly, firing in controlled bursts with her assault rifle as the officer carried on speaking. "We need support, evac for the wounded, they are everywhe..." he was cut off by a strange drone that drowned out everything else.

The camera cut to the sky and a ship appeared, wreathed in red lightning, four limbs askew like the hand of an angry god descending upon them. The camera cut away again as the firing intensified, before a bright light put up the screen, and darkness fell before static dominated the speakers once more. Captain Anderson cut it off with a wave of a hand, his face grave and serious, making him look much older than Shepard remembered seeing him before.

"The rest of the communication is static and interference, but we now know to come in weapons hot. Commander, you are to lead the advance scout team. Your primary objective is find out what we are up against and what strength of opposition stands between us and retrieving that beacon. Secondary objectives are to kill as many enemies as you can as well as to help any troops or survivors you find in any way you can. Nihilus will be dropped nearer the beacon, we need to still obtain that, and it might be what the attackers are here for."

Shepard nodded, it was a good job he had as many supplies as he did, it sounded like his medic abilities would be put to good use again. "Yes sir, who am I to be taking with me? And when do we deploy?" Anderson gestured and Jenkins and another marine Shepard didn't know stepped forwards. "Corporal Jenkins and Lieutenant Alenko will be with you as the sweep team, team Beta will be providing support and extraction." The Normandy's pilot, who was affectionately nicknamed Joker by the crew and had refused to answer by any other including his given name, came on the intercom.

"Captain, we will be clearing the gate in 10 seconds." Anderson nodded, turning back to the marines. "Head to the shuttle bay men, and Shepard?" Shepard turned, wondering what the Captain could have to say that he hadn't already. "Sir?" Anderson pointed at his pistol, shaking his head. "Please tell me you're taking more than that peashooter on this mission?" Shepard grinned almost viciously at that comment and turned away as he charged the weapon. "Sir, if I need more than this baby, then the mission is already fubar enough to worry me." shaking his head, Anderson's only reply was an exasperated grin obviously knowing not to bother pushing the point, the expression was the last thing that Shepard saw before the elevator closed and began its descent into the ships depths.

Time Skip:

"That ship is huge!" Jenkins muttering of the obvious did nothing to reduce the similar feelings of concern and anticipation that were passing through Johns head at the time. "How did they get such a monster into atmosphere, that shouldn't be possible!" Kaidan's insightful but distracting comment brought Shepard's mind back to the mission and he gestured forwards in an attempt to get the others to do the same. "Focus on the mission people; we can work out how to deal with the thing over there afterwards." Alenko nodded, drawing his assault rifle as he did so. Shepard gave out his first orders as he scanned the area with his pistol at the ready.

"Jenkins, take point whilst we advance, I don't want to have any surprises here." Jenkins nodded, obviously eager to prove himself on their first mission. "Of course commander, let's go save us a..." The rest of what Jenkins was going to say was cut off by the appearance of two floating drones, which swooped down on Jenkins, weapons blazing into him viciously. Even as Jenkins fell, screaming in pain, Shepard was already moving into action. With his right hand he raised his gauntlet and fired a dose of medi-gel into the fallen Jenkins via a dart injection system that he was currently testing for alliance R+D along with the other gizmo's that he had incorporated into the piece of armour.

In his left hand his pistol was already up and firing, shots slamming into the closest of the flimsy machines, whilst Kaidan coated the other with sustained and accurate rifle fire. Alenko's drone crashed to the earth whilst Shepard's drone managed to line itself up for another run. As it accelerated, Shepard raised his hands and focused his strength and will. As the first shot scorched the ground in front of him he pushed forward and released a warp spike. The focussed biotic wave was his personal version of the warp, acting as a nano-blade through the air and splitting the machine in two parts.

The remains fell to the floor smoking even as Shepard reached the fallen Jenkins, whose torso was now a blackened mess of armour, flesh and bone. He was breathing, if barely, and the inside of his visor was covered in blood. The medi-gel had done its job however, and as Shepard worked away to try and mitigate the worst of the damage, he could see the chances of Jenkins surviving increasing greatly. He managed to activate his comm unit in a moments respite from treatment as Kaidan swept the area once more.

"Beta, we have a man down, I need you to perform emergency extraction, and we will continue the mission regardless. Kaidan, the drones remains; we will want them for analysis considering what their weapons did to our armour!" Twenty seconds later the drop ship streaked into view, landing a short distance away, two marines leaping out of the opening door, stretcher carried between the two of them. Shepard helped moved him onto the stretcher as Kaidan moved the drones onto the ship with the help of one of the other marines.

After quickly instructing the lead marine on how to keep Jenkins stable, Shepard moved off with Alenko as they moved back towards the transport. He knew that moving on now was a risky decision as it would be at least 30 minutes before the drop ship was back into position from delivering Jenkins to the Normandy. That meant that for the time being, they were on their own without any support in the case they encountered a force that could overwhelm them.

But waiting would greatly reduce the chance that they would find any survivors at all and that was something the medic in him couldn't stand despite the risks. Shepard took the lead this time and whilst they moved he got his suits VI to enhance his forward shields to maximum capacity at the cost of his rear armour shields. The armour gave a low buzz before stabilising once more, better the shields block a shot to the front and risks a sneak attack than be useless for both angles.

They had barely gotten 100 yards before they each heard the distinctive whine of more Geth gun drones. This time he and Kaidan were ready, and with a few short bursts of fire the drones tumbled to the floor, more junk to be collected once the nightmare was over. The smell of death and smoke was becoming more prevalent the further they advanced, penetrating their helmets with surprising ease, reinforcing his earlier though that if they were to find any survivors, they would have to move fast. Indicating that he would continue to lead they continued to advance rapidly and quietly.

After a couple more minutes of advancing in silence there was a short buzz before Nihilus came over the radio, speaking quietly and urgently. "Commander, there are a lot of burning buildings here, bodies too. I'm going to check it out, keep moving to the dig site." Shepard was about to respond when the sounds of gunfire came from in front of them, follows by the now familiar sound of Geth plasma fire in response. Sprinting to the top of the hill his eyes took in the scene in a moment.

There was the female marine from the communications video they had received on the Normandy, sprinting as fast as she could away from a pair of drones who were spitting fire at her, two shots clipping her armour and nearly making her stumble. Shepard had his gun up and was just about to fire at the closest drone when the marine leapt to the ground, drawing her pistol as she did so and turning. Three bursts of fire felled the drones, accuracy that John would have appreciated if he wasn't already eying up his next target, which was the pair of large humanoid robots that were holding a colonist on some kind of strange device.

Loosing off a warp spike even as he began firing, Shepard was pleased when the biotic attack slammed into the synthetic holding the colonist down and causing it to pull the colonist off the device as it fell to the ground from the impact. His relief turned to concern as not a moment later a giant spike shot up from the middle of the device the colonist had been placed upon, leaving no doubt as to what would have happened if Shepard hadn't taken the shot.

The other synthetic seemed torn between target him or the female marine, who had moved into cover and drawn her assault rifle as he charged down the hill with Kaidan right behind him. The thing had just started firing at him when the female marine shifted out of cover and began firing, rounds impacting on the things chest as Kaidan joined in with his own fire, the rain of assault rifle shots bringing it down in moments. Shepard had carried on moving forwards, aiming for the one that he had knocked down as it pushed itself back to its feet in an unsteady manner.

He was ten feet away as it turned with its weapon ready, a trio of pistol rounds impacting in the head area sending it collapsing to the floor once more. Checking the two robots for a moment before deciding that they wouldn't be getting back up, John saw that the colonist was alive if not entirely with it due to shock. Selecting a small sedative from his kit, he injected it into the man who didn't even seem to notice before he slowly fell unconscious. Turning to the female marine who had moved up in his wake and had been sweeping the area with her rifle he began to check her visually for injuries or damage to her armour.

She obviously noticed his look as she switched her rifle to her left hand hurriedly before saluting. "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, are you the one in charge here sir?" Consummate professional even after being under fire, no signs of injuries and his scans weren't sensing any signs of shock. Shepard gave a quick salute back before asking his first question. "I am Commander Shepard of the SSV Normandy, so unless we find your commander I am giving the orders for this mission. Are you wounded Williams?"

She shook her head with a small look of remorse. "A few scrapes and burns from weapons fire, nothing serious. The others, they weren't so lucky. It is a good job you showed up when you did Commander." Looking at the mangled remains of the two drones Shepard couldn't help but smile slightly. "You seemed to have it under control as best you could Williams. Now help me move this man into some cover and you can tell me what happened to the rest of your unit."

Ashley nodded though it was clear she didn't agree with his assessment of the situation even as she moved to grab one of the colonist's arms. "We were patrolling the perimeter when the attack hit. We tried to get off a distress call but they have been blocking our communications. Then we tried to double back to the beacon only to walk into an ambush. I have been fighting for my life ever since, I think I am the only one left."

Knowing from experience what it felt like to be the only survivor of an attack, Shepard decided to try and make sure that Ashley knew that their sacrifice wasn't pointless or her fault, though he tried to avoid outright saying as such as pity was the worst approach in this situation. "Well its thanks to your squad's communication that we knew what we were coming up against otherwise we wouldn't have been ready for this. I am sure that you did everything you could to save them."

The news that the communication had gotten through had the effect that Shepard had expected it too, with Ashley's demeanour visibly brightening, if only momentarily. "It did? We weren't sure with the jamming going on. We held our position as long as we could until the Geth overwhelmed us." The mention of the Geth made the niggling feeling inside Shepard's head go away, he thought he had recognised the larger synthetics from somewhere, even if it was only in the dusty textbooks at the academy.

"The Geth haven't been seen outside of the Perseus Veil in over two hundred years. Why are they here now?" Williams spoke quickly in reply to Kaidan's question and her comment confirmed what Shepard had been thinking. "They must be after the beacon, it's the only thing of strategic importance here. The dig site is close, I was trying to work my way to it after the ambush. The beacon might still be there. It is just over that rise there." They had moved the Colonist whilst they were talking to one of the trees which were surrounded by small bushes, more than enough to hide him from a basic search of the area.

At Ashley's direction they were ready to move out once more, questions that were not mission sensitive could wait till later. "We could use your firepower Williams, ready to take the fight back to the Geth?" Ashley nodded eagerly and readied her assault rifle once more. "Aye Aye sir, it is time for some payback." Shepard nodded but knew he would need to keep an eye on her, vengeance was a great but terrible weapon and if left unchecked Ashley could get them all killed. "Lieutenant, take point whilst I debrief Williams, we will talk as we move."

There were no disagreements as Kaidan moved into position and they took off at a quick jog. "What can you tell me about the Beacon? Why would the Geth be after it?" Ashley seemed almost annoyed with herself as she answered. "They found the beacon whilst they were digging to extend the monorail from the main colony a few weeks back, unearthed some Prothean ruins which the beacon was in. Everyone who had something to do with science in the colony was clamouring to get a hold of it, which is when we were brought in to secure it. I heard one of the scientists say this could be the scientific find of the century, but I don't know anything more than that Commander."

The lack of Intel was annoying but hardly unsurprising. "The researchers, what happened to them?" Ashley pointed off to the left of where they were headed. "They set up a camp near the dig site, the 232 was with them. Perhaps they fared better in the attack then we did." Knowing how unlikely that chance was Shepard decided to leave the conversation at that, an avoidance that was helped by the plasma that flew over Kaidan's head as they cleared the rise overlooking the dig site.

"Four Geth troopers... Make that three!" Kaidan's call was punctuated by his utilisation of biotics to throw the nearest Geth into the wall of the dig site, impaling it upon an extended pole. The remaining three Geth were dealt with quickly between Shepard's and Kaidan's biotics as well as Ashley's impeccable accuracy, but it was the synthetics presence at the site that confirmed the bad news he was slowly starting to expect at every turn with this mission.

"The beacon was here, someone must have moved it." Kaidan sighed, he was obviously getting as used to complications as Shepard was. "Well the question is who moved it, us or the Geth?" Ashley nodded towards the path that led out of the other side of the dig site. "I don't know, but if there are any survivors they might be holed up in the camp and they might know about it."

Reasonable assumption Shepard thought as he spied something in the hands of one of the dead researchers at the site, a Hurricane IV model if he wasn't mistaken, definitely not standard issue. Deciding to worry about where he had gotten it from later, Shepard grabbed it and tossed it to Ashley who caught it deftly, looked it over once before putting her own Hurricane I model on her back. The upgraded weapon would serve them well and considering how FUBAR the mission had already gone, they would need all the help they could get...

Time Skip:

"Humans, thank the maker!" The female researcher seemed overjoyed at their presence, but the injured male seemed much more cautious. "Quick, close the door before they come back!" As much as he didn't have time for pleasantries, Shepard knew that trying to rush a conversation past these two might cause them to clam up or forget things, so he tried the nice approach. Kaidan was searching the rest of the camp for other survivors anyway so he had some time. "Don't worry, we have dealt with the Geth in the camp and on the outskirts, we will protect you from here. I am Commander Shepard of the SSV Normandy."

The woman smiled in relief. "Thank you, I think we will be okay now. I think everyone has gone." Ashley spoke up at this point. "You are Dr Warren, the one in charge of the excavations. Do you know what happened to the beacon? It has been moved from the dig site." The newly named Dr Warren nodded before explaining. "It was moved to the spaceport this morning, Dr Manuel and I stayed behind to help pack up the camp. When the attack came the marines held them off long enough for us to hide in here. They gave their lives to save us."

"No one is saved; the age of humanity has ended. Soon, only ruin and corpses will remain!" Shepard already really didn't like the guy and his attitude wasn't helping. Deciding to ignore him in the hope he would remain quiet Shepard focussed on Warren. "What else can you tell me about the attack?" She shrugged apologetically. "It all happened so fast. One moment we were packing up our equipment, the next we were hiding in this shed whilst the Geth swarmed over the camp."

Dr Manuel started ranting about extinction again so Shepard tuned him out whilst Warren continued. "We could hear the battle outside, gunfire, screaming. I thought it would never end. We locked the door and just sat here; until you came along we didn't dare hope for a rescue." Shepard nodded in understanding; such a reaction was hardly out of the norm for non-military personnel. "We are planning on heading to the spaceport to retrieve the beacon but if you remain here we can extract you once we have it and the Geth withdraw. Is there anything you can tell me about the beacon?"

"It's some type of data module from a Prothean galaxy wide communications network. It's remarkably well preserved and could be the greatest scientific discovery of our lifetimes. Miraculous new technologies, ground-breaking medical advances. Who knows what secrets are locked inside?" The awe in which Dr Warren spoke about the beacon made Shepard realise how much she loved her work if talking about it could drag her from the horrors she had been forced to listen to outside.

His appreciation for her love of the subject was ruined by Dr Manuel once more. "We have unearthed the heart of darkness, awakened the beast. Unleashed the darkness." It seemed that Dr Warren was tired of his ranting as well, but she limited her response to an exasperated sigh and comment of. "Manuel, please. This isn't the time."

Looking closer at the man for the first time, Shepard noticed several signs of a mental break, twitching hands, unfocused staring and wide eyes mixed with sudden jerky movements. "What is wrong with your assistant? He seems to be suffering a mental breakdown." Dr Warren sighed. "Manuel has a brilliant mind, but he has always been a bit... Unstable." Looking at the man, Shepard couldn't help but think that was a slight understatement. "Genius and madness are two sides of the same coin after all. I gave him an extra dose of mess after the attack, but they don't seem to have had much effect."

Deciding that they needed to move to the spaceport soon if they were to secure the beacon, Shepard had one last question to ask. "Did you see a Turian move through here recently?" Manuel looked up sharply at this and his eyes fixed firmly on Shepard for the first time since he entered the shed they were in. "I have seen him. The prophet! The leader of the enemy. He passed through here before the attack." That didn't make sense, Nihilus was on the Normandy before the attack so what could the madman be going on about? Shepard wanted to shake it off as the ravings of a lunatic, but there was something in his eyes that made Shepard think there was something going on here that they did not know about yet.

Bad enough they already were dealing with Geth who had machines that turned humans into some kind of electronic husk that attacked them on sight. The possibility of a Turian being involved just made things worse. "I am sorry, Manuel is a bit unsettled, we haven't seen anything since the attack, and we have been hiding in here." Shepard nodded, it was probably nothing and he was getting paranoid for no reason. "Williams, I need directions to the spaceport, Kaidan any survivors?" After receiving a surprising confirmation from the lieutenant, who had found two badly injure marines hidden in a storm drain, it took a couple of minutes to move them into the shed where the others were hiding.

Dr Warren waved him off as he went to treat them. "I can look after these two, you need to go and save as many others as you can. You are the only hope most of them have got." Feeling slightly chastised at the reminder Shepard nodded before heading to the door. "Lock this when we leave, I will make sure the evac team announce itself before trying to get inside."

That was five lives saved, only another couple of thousand to possibly lose on the way to the spaceport and the beacon...

Time skip:

After two more squads of Geth troopers had been in their path and were dealt with, mostly by an angry Ashley who took slightly more joy in reducing the synthetics to piles of broken machinery than Shepard was comfortable with, they made it to the space station storage area. "This place got hit hard, I wonder if anyone managed to make it out?"

They saw the first Geth trooper that seemed to be sweeping the area, Shepard downing it just in time to see the giant unknown ship take off in the distance, like a spider ascending to its web after devouring its prey. They moved through the area dealing with another half a dozen Geth. After the hostiles were down Shepard led a quick search of the area and found another half a dozen survivors, hidden in another storage shed that the Geth had been guarding along with the station, seemingly content to wait the humans out rather than storm the building.

The colonists had been simple farmers that hadn't been able to help him with much information, but they had had some smuggled weapons that Shepard had easily persuaded them to part with after a speech about risking everything to save Eden Prime. He was now the proud owner of a Stinger III pistol, which was certainly better made and maintained than his older model. The old Stinger was the last memento from his pre-military days, something he had been given by the marines who had rescued him from the Batarian slavers all those years before. But for now he needed the extra firepower the newer gun gave him, so he swapped it out and stored his still in his backpack.

As the three of them headed into the main area of the space station, they were attacked by a group of Geth that were obviously standing guard to the entrance. The combined group of Geth troopers and husks were more of a challenge than Shepard anticipated the three of them unable to concentrate their fire to finish off either group without risking exposure to the other. It took a couple of minutes and a plasma wound to Shepard's shoulder before the last husk fell with a crackling nimbus of blur energy radiating from its unmoving body.

Patching himself up whilst the others searched the area, Shepard almost checked his comm link for damage when Kaidan spoke up with an almost disbelieving tone in his voice. "Commander, you should come see this, its Nihilus." Standing quickly Shepard followed his sensors which lead him to Kaidan's position, Ashley's motion signal also converging from the west. Seeing the unmoving body of the Spectre on the ground Shepard had to resist the urge to rush forward to check on him, scanning the area as Ashley suddenly spoke up. "There, something is moving behind those crates."

Prepping his pistol Shepard was surprised when a human voice called out. "Don't shoot, don't shoot I am human!" As the colonist stepped out from behind the crates with an obviously terrified look on his face, Shepard knew he wasn't going to like what followed...

Time skip:

As he activated the rail transport that would take them to the station the beacon was being held at, Shepard knew he had been right with his unoptimistic thoughts. The colonist's report of what had happened to Nihilus was both confusing and daunting to hear. The name Saren, the Turian that supposedly shot Nihilus when he wasn't looking, was one that Shepard didn't recognise. But according to Powell, the colonist who had seen the shooting, Nihilus seemed to know him; we'll enough to let his guard down at least to let Saren shoot him in the back of the head. Unfortunately there was no time to properly investigate the body, the fact that Saren seemed to be headed to the beacon made everything that much more urgent.

Powell, who one of the farmers they had encountered before had told Shepard was the main smuggler on Eden prime, also had gotten hold of some experimental grenades they had been using at the dig site to remove the harder rocks. Judging by the damage the grenades had done when Shepard had used them to destroy the large Red Geth on the rail platform; they definitely were more impressive than the alliance standard models.

As the rail transport began moving, his comm link activated once more. "Commander, Beta team are back in position though we cannot follow you to the space station, scanners are picking up a large enemy ship in the vicinity and if we get much closer it will pick us up. What are your orders?" Relaying what he had discovered thus far about the attack and the beacon, Shepard got them to head to the research camp to pick up the survivors and then return to the Normandy to inform Captain Anderson of developments.

Looking up after letting go of his comm link, Shepard saw they were approaching the other station, with a white armoured Geth already preparing its weapon to fire in their direction. "Take cover, hostiles to the front." His call went unneeded as Ashley and Kaidan were already moving to the sparse cover the transporter offered them. Taking aim with his pistol Shepard began firing, his first shot clipping the Geth's shoulder and throwing its own fire off course. Let the slaughter commence.

Time skip:

With the Geth bombs neutralised, each with enough explosive power to level a good portion of the colony by themselves, mopping up the remaining Geth didn't take too much time or effort for his team. Looking at the beacon in front of him as the smaller Geth ship took to the skies, obviously to escape the explosion they had just prevented, Shepard wondered what the hell it contained that had made it worth so many lives. Shaking his head, that was a matter that went far above his head, Shepard reached for his earpiece to report in. "Normandy, the beacon is secure. The space station is clear of hostiles and the Geth ships have left planet side, requesting ground teams to help with mopping up and search and rescue operations."

He heard Kaidan say something in an awed tone in his voice as Joker came on the line. "We are on our way; Beta team reported back half an hour ago and the Captain? Well let's say he wants answers and he wants them now."

"Roger that Joker, I know exactly how he is feeling, we will guard the beacon until ground crews are here." Releasing the comm link button, Shepard turned to find Kaidan stood there waiting for him. "Extraction is on route, we will be out of here... Ashley!" He cut off as he saw the beacon light up, Ashley being drawn towards it by some invisible force despite her obvious efforts to pull back. He didn't know whether it was the medic or the soldier in him that made him run forwards and grab her. He pulled with all his might but didn't seem to be able to move her at all, so he instead spun round with her so he was closest to the beacon, flinging her back towards Kaidan even as he felt the pull draw him closer to the now pulsating beacon.

He was drawn up into the air by the same invisible force, unfamiliar and strange images filling his head as he heard Ashley cry his name from behind him. The jumble of images was not clear, but the feeling behind them was clear enough. For the first time Shepard understood why Manuel had been like he was, such was the feelings of despair, terror and imminent death that the images evoked in the subconscious of his mind. The stream of images accelerated and Shepard could just start to make out what they were of, when the beacon gave a high pitched squeal and everything went black...


	2. Information, a place on my team for Info

_Previously on Medic Effect:_

_With the Geth bombs neutralised, each with enough explosive power to level a good portion of the colony by themselves, mopping up the remaining Geth didn't take too much time or effort for his team. Looking at the beacon in front of him as the smaller Geth ship took to the skies, obviously to escape the explosion they had just prevented, Shepard wondered what the hell it contained that had made it worth so many lives. Shaking his head, that was a matter that went far above his head, Shepard reached for his earpiece to report in. "Normandy, the beacon is secure. The space station is clear of hostiles and the Geth ships have left planet side, requesting ground teams to help with mopping up and search and rescue operations."_

_He heard Kaidan say something in an awed tone in his voice as Joker came on the line. "We are on our way; Beta team reported back half an hour ago and the Captain? Well let's say he wants answers and he wants them now."_

_"Roger that Joker, I know exactly how he is feeling, we will guard the beacon until ground crews are here." Releasing the comms, Shepard turned to find Kaidan stood there waiting for him. "Extraction is on route, we will be out of here... Ashley!" He cut off as he saw the beacon light up, Ashley being drawn towards it by some invisible force despite her obvious efforts to pull back. He didn't know whether it was the medic or the soldier in him that made him run forwards and grab her. He pulled with all his might but didn't seem to be able to move her at all, so he instead spun round with her so he was closest to the beacon, flinging her back towards Kaidan even as he felt the pull draw him closer to the now pulsating beacon. _

___He was drawn up into the air by the same invisible force, unfamiliar and strange images filling his head as he heard Ashley cry his name from behind him. The jumble of images was not clear, but the feeling behind them was clear enough. For the first time Shepard understood why Manuel had been like he was, such was the feelings of despair, terror and imminent death that the images evoked in the subconscious of his mind. The stream of images accelerated and Shepard could just start to make out what they were of, when the beacon gave a high pitched squeal and everything went black..._

Chapter 2: Evidence, a place on my team for evidence!

Consciousness came slowly, which was annoying for Shepard as he had always prided himself on being able to be awake and alert at the slightest disturbance. As his brain woke up so did the pain that burst from it like a rapidly beating drum something that wasn't helped by the voice that spoke up as he righted himself. "Dr? Dr Chakwas? I think he is waking up!" As his cognitive functions became fully functional Shepard realised he was in the medical bay of the Normandy on one of the treatment tables, a position he was not used to being in.

Looking up as footsteps sounded he saw the familiar face of Dr Chakwas, the ship's doctor, approaching with a concerned smile on her face. "You had us worried Shepard, even more so than Jenkins. How are you feeling?"

Knowing it was not worth trying to lie to the woman, who seemed to have an ability to sense such misdemeanours in her patients; Shepard reached for his head as another wave began. "Throbbing, comes in waves and of varying intensity, any water? What is Jenkins' condition; did the medi gel launcher work properly?"

Chakwas didn't seem able to help the chuckle as she turned back to him from the station where she had been filling a glass with water. "Out for 15 hours with unknown side effects of being in contact with a Prothean device and all you can think about is work? The role of medic really does suit you Commander. Jenkins is stable, once we reach the Citadel they can give him better treatment than I can manage on here, but he will live, along with the two badly injured marines you rescued from the camp."

Ashley, who had been stood respectfully behind him until that point spoke up with more than a slight hint of self-loathing in her voice. "It's my fault you were out for so long. I just have triggered some kind of security field on the beacon when I approached it. If I had been more careful you wouldn't have had to push me out of the way."

Definitely not the best day for her self-esteem, but considering what she had been through she was in the best shape Shepard could imagine. Trying his best to think straight as he took a long gulp of the water Dr Chakwas gave him; Shepard decided to deal with Ashley's inadequacy issues before asking anymore questions about the mission. "Williams, you had no way of knowing that would happen, Dr Warren definitely didn't mention something like that happening at the Research base."

Though Ashley didn't say anything he could tell that his words had had some effect on her as Dr Chakwas spoke once more. "Unfortunately we will not be able to study it any further to see if that was what was meant to happen."

Ashley stepped forward into his field of view, obviously having taken his words to mean she was forgiven enough to address him directly. "The beacon exploded Commander, a system overload maybe. The blast knocked you out cold and nothing we did could wake you before the recovery team arrived. I helped carry you to the ship whilst the lieutenant coordinated the ground efforts."

"I appreciate the assistance, but I don't think it was the blast that knocked me out. What were my scans like?"

Chakwas held out a data pad with the various results on them. "Physically you are fine, but there are some unusual beta brain waves on the neurological scan. There was also an increase in your rapid eye movement, which as you know is associated with, well dreaming."

Nodding Shepard concluded his own analysis. "As I thought, the beacon implanted something in my head, which is probably what gave you these readings. I can't make head or tail of what it is, but the feeling of death and destruction that go along with it make it clear this was no accidental message. This was a warning about something, possibly whatever it was that wiped out the Prothean's." Chakwas frowned but seemed to take his word for it, his knowledge about the human mind exceeded hers just like her knowledge of serious trauma and diseases exceeded his.

"I will add it to the report, though it is definitely the weirdest diagnosis I think I will have ever transcribed. We can look into it... Captain Anderson." Unlike most of the marines Chakwas didn't salute the captain, merely straightening slightly and nodding in his direction. Captain Anderson looked over at Shepard. "How is he? I need to give him a debriefing on the mission as soon as possible."

Before Chakwas could answer Shepard hauled himself to his feet. "My readings are normal, my shoulder is healed and other than this headache I am good to go. I am ready to give my report sir."

Snapping off a salute brought a whisper of a smile to the captain's face for a moment. "Glad to hear it, but Shepard, I need to talk to you...in private."

The hint was clear and Ashley caught it easily enough and she saluted again. "Very well, I will be in the mess if you need me. And Shepard, thanks for the save...again."

Chakwas seemed less eager to let him go without a full examination but she sighed after a moment and turned away. "I will check on the other injured, but keep it down; I don't want you disturbing them."

With the two women gone Anderson spoke once more. "The beacon sure did a number on you Commander, are you sure you are okay?" The headache was now mostly gone and now Shepard could focus his thoughts he realised that he was okay, he was thinking clearer than he had for a long time.

"Angry about what happened to Jenkins, the colony and to Nihlus sir, but otherwise I am okay. If you don't mind me asking sir, what is gunnery chief Williams doing aboard the ship? And what happened to the colony?" Anderson looked out fonts med bay windows to where the woman in question was stood, obviously waiting for them to finish.

"The colony suffered badly, almost 50% casualties by the time you arrived. But from the sounds of it you saved a fair number of people directly, also reports from the ground say the majority of the Geth stopped searching for survivors soon after you landed and headed to the spaceport. You certainly did a good job considering how unprepared you were. Williams is here for two reasons, Kaidan's report has indicated she is a superb soldier, which you will need with Jenkins out of action for the time being if not permanently. Also, with her unit pretty much wiped out, her secondment to the Normandy saves her being muddled up in the system and losing us a valuable asset to Alliance bureaucracy."

The news about the colony was better than he expected and he certainly didn't disagree with Williams joining the team. "She is a good soldier and has good judgement; she will be a good asset for the team. Sir, do we know why the Geth were there?"

Anderson shook his head. "No we don't but it doesn't look good for us. Nihlus is dead, the beacon destroyed and the Geth invading? The council are going to want answers, answers I don't think we can give them."

Shepard shrugged; it wasn't like he had done anything wrong on the mission that he would need to hide from the council. Anderson continued speaking, his tone less friendly and more serious. "But that's not why I needed to see you. It's about Saren, the Turian you mentioned to beta team as having shot Nihlus. Saren is a Council Spectre, one of the best and most respected of the whole group. He is like you, something of a living legend. But if he is working with the Geth, it means that he has gone rogue and rogue Spectres are dangerous, especially as he hates humans."

There was an obvious question there and having worked with Anderson before now Shepard knew that he did not need to ask for permission before speaking his mind. "Why does he hate us so much?"

Anderson looked up at this his expression drawn into a grimace. "He thinks we are growing too fast, taking over the galaxy. And he isn't the only one; a lot of aliens think that way too. But Saren has allied himself with the Geth, why and how aren't important, only that he was after the beacon for some reason. You were there before the beacon overloaded, did you see anything? A clue as to what Saren might be after."

The question got Shepard thinking and he came to one of two conclusions. "The beacon gave me a series of images, a warning of sorts that seemed to imply something terrible was coming. They looked like synthetics, Geth perhaps and they were slaughtering everyone. So either Saren wanted to see that warning for himself, or he wanted to stop anyone else from seeing it, which given the number of bombs he had placed at the spaceport is quite likely."

Anderson looked thoughtful at this but he seemed to believe Shepard's view without question which was a pleasant surprise. "It is unlikely to be the Geth as it is a Prothean beacon, but this definitely is something we need to report to the council."

Shepard shook his head; whilst Anderson believed him he knew others would be a lot less believing. "And say what, that I got a jumble of images from the beacon, something bad is coming, everyone panic?"

Anderson was quick to point out something Shepard had forgotten. "We do not know what those images mean Shepard; they could be about lost Prothean tech, the weapons of destruction that wiped the Prothean race out, who knows what else. And Saren has those images, if he can work out how to read them, then he can make this attack look like an act of child's play."

Shepard nodded; an army of Geth was bad enough without any other advantages to be considered. "Not if I find a way to take him down first sir." "It won't be that easy, he is a Spectre. He can go anywhere, do almost anything. This is why we need the council on our side Shepard, before we try and make a move against Saren."

Shepard sighed; convincing politicians of anything was never as easy as Anderson had just made it out to be. They needed irrefutable evidence to have any hope of gaining the upper hand here. "Is Nihlus' body aboard sir? If we are going to persuade the council that Saren killed him we will need to stop any accusations that we were the ones that did it."

Anderson nodded and pointed out of the medbay. "We have him in the cargo area, it was the only place we could store his body respectfully with the casualties we are carrying as well. The ship is a couple of hours out from the citadel, Joker will let you know when we have arrived, I will contact Ambassador Udina, and he should be able to get us an audience with the council. If you need me, I will be in my cabin." Shepard saluted before shaking his head. "I should be fine, though I might borrow Kaidan to help me with the scans I need."

Anderson nodded before giving one last comment. "Take Williams with you as well, if she is going to serve on the Normandy she will need to get to know how you work. That and I doubt you will get rid of her easily anyways, she hasn't left your side since Alenko finished giving her the tour of the ship." The last comment earned a raised eyebrow as Shepard wondered quite how much his saving her life meant to the woman if she was already showing this level of dedication. Shaking it off as the Captain left the room Shepard began collecting the items he needed, there was a lot of work that needed to be done before they reached the Citadel...

Time skip:

It was a much more sombre atmosphere aboard the Normandy as the ship docked at the Citadel than when they left, which was hardly surprising. From what Shepard had heard the Council were brushing off the attack on Eden Prime as if it were the Alliances fault they had been attacked, to say nothing about the topic of Saren. The council had put Citadel Security or C-Sec in charge of the investigation into their allegations, but Anderson had definitely not sounded optimistic about the whole thing.

That was fine, that just meant that Shepard had to bring his own evidence to the hearing that was to take place in a couple of hours. Shepard, Ashley and Alenko all accompanied the Captain to the human embassy aboard the Citadel, where he had the... pleasure of meeting Ambassador Udina for the first time. Seeing the man's way of dealing with the council members, Shepard couldn't help but wonder quite how many palms had to have been greased for such a poor diplomat to make it too such a powerful position.

His low opinion of the man was raised slightly in the following discussion about Saren, for the whole five seconds before Udina started berating him for the events on Eden Prime. The whole conversation left a bitter taste in his mouth as it was clear that this was as much a hearing about proving his unviability for the Spectres as it was their accusations against Saren.

As Udina walked off with Anderson to discuss how to approach the meeting, Shepard heard Ashley mutter quietly. "And that is why I hate politicians." The comment brought a small smile to his face as he wondered whether she meant Udina, the Council or both. The hearing wasn't for a couple of hours still so Shepard decided to have a look around the citadel, he had only briefly been here on transfers between alliance vessels, not really given much time to take in the sights.

His first stop however was the blinking computer screen in the corner of the embassy office, which looked to be an official report of an alliance patrol. The contents were encrypted, but his N7 decryption V.I broke through it with little difficulty. The report was about strange readings in the Argos Rho system detected by a Captain Hendrickson. Whilst the report didn't go into any details, the fact it occurred around the same time as the Geth attack on Eden Prime made it interesting and useful knowledge to have.

Recording the report to his Omni-tool, he was surprised that neither of his companions commented on what he had just done, but he supposed that he had hardly done anything out of line, his clearance level had been more than high enough to receive the report through official channels, all he had done was just expedited the process. Seeing nothing else of interest he headed out of the door and into the main embassy building. A quick investigation revealed that the humans were on the same section as the Elcor and Volus embassies, which were in the same room due to the lack of available space.

Heading back down the stairs Shepard greeted Saphyria, the administrator who he had met on the way to meet Udina for the first time. Whilst Shepard couldn't stand politicians and most other bureaucrats, he knew the value of getting along with administrators and their like, especially ones like Saphyria who were actually competent at their job.

His continued exploration of the building lead him to a surprising discovery, walking in through one of the other doors on the left side of the embassy Shepard found himself facing a Turian from one the data slates Anderson had shown him, who if he remembered correctly from the data he had pulled up whilst docking was Executor Pallin, head of C-Sec. Pallin looked equally surprised as he looked up from his computer. "Commander Shepard, I did not expect to see you here. Did Ambassador Udina send you?" The tone Turian used when he used Udina's name reinforced the idea that the ambassador was definitely not making any friends with his rather blunt tactics.

Deciding to try and be diplomatic to someone he was going to need to persuade later, Shepard shook his head. "No he didn't, I was given leave until the hearing began and as this is my first proper time on the Citadel I decided to explore the place. I was just trying to find out who was based where in case I need to know for a mission later, I didn't mean to disturb you if you were busy."

His response seemed to surprise the Turian for a moment. "Humans and their curiosity, always wanting to know more and more about everything, even when that involves sticking their fingers into someone else's pie. Is that the right expression?"

Shepard nodded shortly at the veiled dig, determined not to rise to the Turian's bating even if it was obviously light hearted. "From the sounds of it, you are not very fond of humans Executor. Any particular reason why?"

Pallin seemed to consider his answer for a moment. "No, it's not that I am not fond of your kind, it's that I don't trust them, not yet. Humans are eager to grab any power they can get regardless of the cost, and you have been given a lot by the Council. I suppose I cannot judge your kind based on a few cases however, you certainly act differently to Ambassador Udina, who seems to want Humanity as the council's new favourites without any work required."

Shepard resisted the urge to go and bang his head against the wall of the office. "Really? And he wonders why the Council stonewall our every request. No wonder we are treated like second class citizens who have to fight for every scrap of respect if that's what you think all humans are like." To his surprise Pallin actually laughed. "Good, a human that says what he is actually thinking. It is true you have to fight for the councils respect, but that is what we have all had to do, don't be like your ambassador and just expect an easy ride. Now, I am a busy man Commander and it is probably not good for us to be talking before your hearing, even if it is against Saren. Is there anything else you need?"

It was just the way that Pallin spoke that made Shepard curious enough to ask his next question. "Saren's a Turian, yet you don't seem to like him any more than you like us."

Pallin's grin made it clear that he was more than happy to elaborate on that point. "I don't like Spectres as a whole, a group that is above the law if and when their members feel like it is bad enough, but they get away with it because the council doesn't want to upset their pets. Saren is one of the worst, loose cannon that the council won't try and control because he doesn't step too noticeably on their toes. Whilst I don't believe he would go as far as to ally with the Geth, if the investigation by C-sec turns up clean it will be just as damning that he is up to something in my eyes. Is that the kind of person the galaxy needs in charge of its safety?"

Shepard shook his head. "No, but not all Spectres are like Saren, it is like any organisation there are the bad eggs."

Pallin chuckled; obviously he appreciated the human metaphors despite not trusting the race as a whole. "True, but the potential is always there, and a rogue spectre is the most dangerous bad egg of them all." The screen in front of Pallin lit up and he shook his head. "Business calls, I will see you at the hearing Commander." Deciding to go for one last win in the short conversation, Shepard saluted before leaving, Pallin's expression unreadable as he answer the waiting video call.

Once outside Shepard saw Williams leaning against the door. "The Lieutenant went for a drink with an alliance buddy of his; he said he would meet us up at the council floor. That was some impressive diplomacy there commander. From what I have heard about him, the Executor has never been anywhere near as civil with a human as he was just then." Shepard shrugged but didn't offer a verbal response, it was hardly a big thing he had just done.

He completed the exploration of the embassy with a visit to the bar area, though that revealed nothing of importance or interest, so he quickly moved on, stepping out into the Presidium air with a sigh of contentment, certainly was better than the still and slightly musty air of the Normandy. Now where to go from here...

Time skip:

It turned out that two hours was more than enough time to investigate some of the citadel, especially if you covered it at a quick jog like he and Ashley had. The biggest surprise had been the meeting with the Asari consort Sha'ira, certainly not what he had expected when he and Williams had entered the building and met with her acolyte. The Asari had been gracious and polite when she had invited him up to her rooms, something that he had been told could take months, and both of time and out of his pay check. She had asked for his help and whilst Shepard had been slightly put off with her unsubtle hints about how grateful she would be for his help with this Turian general, it had hardly been a difficult request. He had accepted it before the two of them were shown out into the waiting room lined with visitors waiting their turn to visit her.

Ashley had rolled her eyes as they left. "Please tell me Commander we didn't accept that mission just because she batted her eyes at you?" Shepard laughed and shook his head. "She was a little too forward for my liking, I did it because we will probably end up exploring Chora's den if we get time, so why not earn a friend or two here by doing a simple job?" She gave him a deadpan look which made it clear she didn't believe him, before dropping the subject once more.

There hadn't been time to explore any of the wards before the hearing, but Shepard had no doubt that there would be time for that whilst the council deliberated over matters. Riding the elevator up to the Council chamber he found Executor Pallin there talking to a Turian he did not recognise in the trademark blue armour of C-Sec, with Kaidan stood behind them obviously waiting for Shepard. It was the unknown Turian who was speaking angrily as Shepard entered hearing. "Saren is hiding something. I just need more time to find it. Give me more time, stall them." Pallin shook his head and was obviously trying to be the voice of reason. "Stall the Council, don't be ridiculous. Your investigation is over Garrus."

That didn't sound at all promising for the outlook of the upcoming hearing as Pallin turned away, the newly named Garrus approaching them and bowing his head in greeting. "Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarin. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren." Shepard nodded back. "It sounds like you really want to bring Saren down." Garrus nodded whilst folding his arms across his chest. "There is something about him that I just don't trust. But he is a Spectre, everything he touches is classified. When trying to find hard evidence whilst you can't read any of the reports about his missions of dealings, well it certainly doesn't help build a case."

A problem indeed for the chances of a successful hearing with the council, but there was no time for Shepard to further discuss it as Kaidan spoke out. "I think the council is ready for us Commander, we had better get moving otherwise we will be late." Bidding a hasty goodbye to Garrus who wished him luck with the council, Shepard made his way up the stairs.

Captain Anderson was stood waiting for him and Shepard knew that things were not going well already. "This way, the hearing has already started, something about other matters requiring their attention."

Striding up the last set of stairs, Shepard had to appreciate the chamber the council had taken as their own. The tranquil garden setting seemed more at home in a human backyard than an administrational building, with the large bay windows looking out onto the citadel arms adding to that effect. The three council members were stood on separate stands across from Ambassador Udina, with a gigantic holo figure of a Turian stood sneering down at the four of them as they approached, Shepard assumed this was Saren.

The Asari councillor was speaking from the middle stand, her tone civil but firm as she was obviously replying to one of Udina's points. "The Geth attack is of some concern this is true, but there is nothing to indicate that Saren was involved in anyway." The Turian councillor to her right spoke up in agreement. "The investigation by citadel security turned up no evidence to support your allegations of treason." Udina seemed furious as he bit out his response. "We have a witness that saw him kill Nihlus in cold blood." The Salarian spoke this time, calculating and realistic like the rest of his species. "We have read the reports from Eden Prime; the testimony of a single traumatised dock worked doesn't make a strong case."

The towering Turian scoffed. "I resent these accusations, Nihlus was a fellow spectre. And a friend." Anderson was about to retort, his normally calm demeanour shaken by the presence of Saren, when Shepard grabbed his arm and shook his head before speaking up.

He did his best to remember his public relations training both from the academy and N7 as all eyes turned to him. "Honoured council, Spectre Saren, may I have permission to address this council with my analysis of the situation?"

Saren looked down at him with baleful eyes. "You must be Anderson's new lapdog; he always seems to be involved when humanity makes false charges against me. This is obviously an attempt to hide your destruction of the beacon."

So this wasn't the first time Saren had been involved in damaging humanities interests. That would have been useful to know beforehand. To his surprise none of the council members attempted to rebuke the comments that he had thought was rather out of line, even for a Spectre. With no one jumping to his defence or to confirm that he could speak, Shepard decided to start until someone told him otherwise.

"This is no attempt to hide the fact that the beacon was destroyed, but the mechanisms that led to its destruction were not noticed before the Geth attack, as noted in Dr Warren's notes. Therefore it is likely that the Geth sabotaged the device or activated a safety protocol before we were able to secure the area. But that is not what I was talking about. Council members, if I may?"

He held up his omni tool and after a moment of looking to each other the Asari nodded. "What is it you wish to show us commander?"

Shepard linked his omni tool to the main computer, a holo image appearing in front of them, constructed from his and the team's video files of the scene where they had found Nihlus. "As I am a qualified human doctor as well as an N7 operator, I wished to get a better idea of what had happened to Spectre Nihlus as you are quite right, our witness could be mistaken in what he saw."

He saw Udina throw him a warning look but Shepard ignored it as he scrolled through the data on his omni tool, an image of Nihlus' body and three Geth troopers' corpses appearing amongst the various objects present in the area. "We found three Geth that were killed by Nihlus before he died each with single shotgun rounds to the upper torso and head."

Saren sighed, obviously bored with the show. "And what is the point of this charade human? You are wasting my time."

Whilst the Turian nodded in agreement the Salarian seemed to have caught onto what Shepard was getting at, typing away as he looked at Shepard's data. "The bodies' positions, they were all around Nihlus. Given the lack of Geth weapon damage to Nihlus' armour in your report I assume you are implying he had already cleared the area."

Shepard nodded as he saw a small spark light up in the Asari councillor's eyes as well. "Exactly, with those three Geth and the lack of damage it was clear that not only had he cleared the area but that someone else was there than the Geth or the human witness." That caused the Salarian to frown for a moment as he obviously tried to figure out where Shepard was going with this. Typing away the fallen body of Nihlus was removed and replaced with a stood up copy of the fallen spectre, Shepard started speaking once more. "Nihlus' body only had one wound on it, the pistol wound to the back of the head that killed him. By analysing the trajectory of the bullet..."

Shepard highlighted the neck area where a simulation of the kill shot showed it piercing the neck armour and then the lower skull; though he stopped it from showing the internal injuries which he thought would not help his case at this stage. "The trajectory of the bullet wound and the muzzle flare on the damaged armour shows that the shot came almost horizontally with a slight downwards path from less than three feet away, which means..."

The Asari cut him off as she put the pieces together. "The attacker had to be taller than Nihlus to make that shot and that Nihlus had to know he was there and still turn his back on him. That definitely rules out a human, but it doesn't add to your accusations against Saren doing this or why it could not have been a Geth."

Shepard shrugged and gestured at the holo simulation. "None of the Geth that we encountered on Eden Prime carried weapons other than some strange plasma rifles and rocket launchers, nothing that could have done this. Analysis of the bullet penetration also indicates a Stinger mk VI or VII, which have only been out for a few years from Rosenkov, no one on Eden Prime had any such weapon or the means to get hold of one. I wonder, what is your sidearm of choice Spectre Saren?"

He could see that his question had rattled Saren for the first time in the hearing, though it was the Salarian who spoke once more, taking control of the hologram from Shepard. "Spectres own a range of high end weapons to outfit themselves and their allies, so whilst the pistol make makes Saren a suspect, it also implicates most the members of the council military command. Spectre Saren is also of the right height to have pulled off the shot you have shown, but again, most Turians and Salarians fit that analysis."

Whilst he had no way convinced them of Saren's guilt, Shepard seemed to have certainly changed the attitude of the council members towards the hearing as a whole. Saren obviously understood this as well as he tried to bring the point away from what Shepard had said. "This still proves nothing but that you let a Spectre die on your evaluation mission and failed to complete your objectives." Shepard smiled as he realised that Saren had slipped up for the first time with dragging the attention back to his mission.

"The mission to Eden Prime, as well as my Spectre evaluation mission was meant to be top secret Spectre Saren, if that was the case, how do you know so much about them and the beacon?" There was a slight cough of laughter from behind him as Saren paused for a moment before answering, the pause more than enough to let Shepard knew that the Turian was not telling the entire truth. "When Nihlus died all of his work passed to me, including the documents about the Eden Prime mission. I was given the report to read on it, I was not impressed. But then humans have always been mediocre candidates for Spectres at best."

To Shepard's surprise the Turian council member spoke up this time before he could form a retort. "Enough Saren, your dislike of humans is well known and it should not be used as a defence in this investigation. Nor should we discuss Shepard's application to the Spectres, that will come later and that is not your decision. Now Commander Shepard, do you or your crew have any more evidence to bring to this hearing?" Shepard thought about bringing up his vision, but that would almost definitely hurt his cause rather than help it so he let it slide for now, it was in the reports anyway.

Shaking his head, he knew the council's decision before they even announced it. "The council has found that there is insufficient evidence of any connection tying Saren to the attack on Eden Prime or the Geth. Ambassador, your petition to have him disbarred from the Spectres is denied."

Saren looked as smug as a Turian could as he heard the verdict. "I am glad to see that justice was served." And then the hologram of him wavered and disappeared. The Asari looked at Shepard for a moment before speaking. "This meeting is adjourned."

Knowing a dismissal when he heard one, Shepard turned and left with Anderson, Udina standing there for a moment longer before following them out to the waiting area, where he quickly made his anger clear. "It was a mistake bringing you to the hearing Anderson, you and Saren have too much history and he tried to take advantage of that. If Shepard hadn't stepped in that meeting would have gone a lot worse. Well done by the way Shepard, even if you didn't persuade them entirely they certainly took your evidence seriously enough to stand up to Saren at the end there. It is a start at least."

Anderson shook his head clearly agitated by events. "Saren would only ally with the Geth for one reason and that is to wipe out our entire race. Nowhere would be safe, not even Earth."

Despite wanting to ask about the captain's history with Saren, there were more pertinent questions to ask. "So what is our next move?"

Udina brought a hand up to his chin, resting the arm on his other arm at his waist. "Saren is a Spectre, so he is pretty much untouchable. We need something to expose him for what he is."

Kaidan spoke up at this point from where he had been stood behind Shepard. "What about Garrus, that C-sec investigator? We saw him arguing with the Executor. He was asking for more time on his report, perhaps he was close to finding something on Saren."

Udina nodded in agreement with this. "That would be good, I have a contact named Harkin in C-sec, and he could help you locate Garrus."

Anderson shook his head obviously disagreeing with Udina's statement. "We shouldn't waste our time with Harkin; he was suspended from C-sec over a month ago, drinking on the job again."

Udina rounded on Anderson at this point. "Well he is the only contact we really have so he will have to do. I don't want you anywhere near this Anderson; the council will use your past history with Saren to discredit any findings. Shepard can handle this."

It was slightly surprising to Shepard when Anderson thought about this and nodded his head, obviously at least one of the two men could place the mission over personal feelings. "You are right Ambassador. Shepard, Harkin will probably be getting drunk in Chora's den, it's a dingy little place in the lower wards. Otherwise, talk to Barla Von in the merchant's district; he's an agent of the shadow broker. He works in buying and selling secrets, so he might have something on Saren. But his information won't be cheap. Now the Ambassador and I need to discuss business in his office, so I will leave it up to you from here."

Bidding his goodbyes to the two of them, Shepard turned to the two members of his team. "Right, where do we want to go break heads first?"

Time skip:

Being in the hub of galactic politics quickly reminded Shepard of how many people there were that would pay a lot of money for jobs that carried only the slightest risk. He had met a Salarian named Corban that had wanted to just take a few scans of the keepers that Shepard had seen about the place, but was worried about getting caught by the authorities over it. Shepard was certain that the worst he would get if he was caught doing it was a slap on the wrist, so he gladly accepted the Salarian's offer of credits for each scan he sent in. Having found five keepers on the council tower level alone, Shepard suddenly had 5,000 extra credits in his account for no work at all.

Returning to the presidium, Shepard decided that Garrus was their best lead so they would need to make their way to the wards. On his travel round the presidium floor Shepard had dealt with a well-meaning but oddly infuriating Hanar preacher, convincing it that the Prothean's, or enkindlers as the Hanar had referred to them, would not have approved of the breaking of laws to spread their message. The C-Sec officer who had been arguing with the Hanar had been most impressed with Shepard's handling of the situation, giving him a small amount of omni-gel as thanks, which Shepard planned on using to synthesise replacements for the medigel he used on Eden Prime.

Rather than head straight to the wards, Shepard decided to check into C-Sec first, he would prefer not to trek down to the wards if he could catch Garrus there instead. This proved a vain hope, but it provided some useful info and further things to be added to his to do list. He had overheard a volume telling a C-sec officer that Chorban was trying to kill him, though the following conversation cast a lot of doubt over the severity of the allegation. It was something for him to discuss with Chorban when he next saw him, but it didn't stop Shepard from collecting the money by scanning the other keepers he found in C-Sec.

From there to the wards had been mostly uneventful, meeting the reporter Emily Wong had been a pleasant distraction, even if she had mostly wanted to ask for his help with one of her stories. She had been one of his favourite reporters during the off time he had on missions, honest and determined to get the truth, which were attributes he respected. There was also the fact she had already known about his investigation, meaning that she had a good network he could perhaps use if he helped her out.

As they entered Chora's den, Shepard couldn't help the small grin as he remembered the 'other' incident...

*Flashback*

Looking over the city that made up the main body of the citadel, Shepard removed himself from enjoying the view as Kaidan and Ashley argued next to him. "Maybe they just don't like humans." Ashley finished saying with a small scowl on her face.

Chuckling to himself Shepard decided to poke a little fun into the situation. "What's not to like about us? We have wonderful oceans, beautiful women and this crazy little thing called love. If we could measure up to those old vids the council would welcome us with open arms."

Ashley chuckled herself as she looked out over the city, a teasing grin on her face. "If you want me in one of those tinfoil skirts and thigh high boots, I expect dinner first." There was a pause for a moment as Ashley seemed to realise what she said before she tried to salvage the situation. "Sir."

Kaidan seemed torn between bursting out laughing and being offended by the implication, settling for a simple "I think that's enough chief."

Chuckling as the two of them seemed unsure about his response; Shepard decided to let Ashley off the hook. "It's all right Alenko; I can't see her as the skirt type anyways."

Ashley seemed to almost collapse with relief before her bravo returned. "Damn right you can't sir."

Waiting a moment to let her lower her guard, Shepard then leaned in and in a conspiratorial fake whisper gave his last punishing remark. "I am impressed by your standards though Williams, insisting on dinner even after I save your life." Kaidan didn't restrain his laughter this time as Ashley blushed a heavy red and took a half-hearted swing at him.

*flashback end*

Totally worth the embarrassed glares that Ashley was still throwing his way. Shepard turned back to see if she was still mad when a bullet clipped the wall where he was standing, making him duck instinctively whilst going for his pistol. A pair of Turians in plain black armour were stood just outside the den, assault weapons blazing as Shepard rolled into cover slightly to the left of Ashley as she returned fire for a moment before a throw knocked her to the ground. The Turians use of biotics made them a much greater challenge than the Geth on Eden Prime, but with gratuitous use of Kaidan's lift ability and Shepard's warp spike they were dealt with.

Kaidan was obviously angry at the unprovoked attack, his emotions bleeding through as he made it clear who he thought had organised the assault. "Those were Saren's men, I am sure of it." Shepard couldn't help but agree with him as they checked the corpses for weapons and interesting items; these were no two bit thugs out for a quick bit of credit. From their gear and general skill it was almost certain these attackers had been ex-military at least.

It was Ashley that spoke next having checked the pair's pouches with surprising dexterity. "No sir, should we just leave them here? C-Sec will probably be here to find out about the gunshots soon enough."

Looking around to see no one looking on, Shepard had a better idea that came from his experiences in N7 black ops missions. "Grab their weapons and pouches Williams, they will be taken soon enough anyway and they might have information inside that is important to proving Saren's involvement. Also we will need some more money in case we need to go buy information from this shadow broker regarding Saren."

Kaidan looked a little dubious but Williams reached down to start grabbing equipment. "Spoils of war right Commander?" Well Shepard thought as Ashley began shifting items to her backpack whilst Kaidan rather uncomfortably kept watch; at least one of them was in the right mind-set.

Time skip:

Chora's den had been interesting, definitely not Shepard's scene with the dim ambience and rather questionable clientele, but he had managed to find both Harkin and the Turian general inside. Harkin had been how Anderson had described, a bitter old drunk who honestly was an embarrassment to the entire human race, but he had given up the information regarding Garrus' whereabouts. General Septimus had been almost as bitter, but by appealing the soldier's honour and pride Shepard had managed to get Septimus' act together. In addition the general had given them a chance to earn some more credits by saving the consorts reputation from any more damage due to the rumours he had spread about several high standing ambassadors and public figures.

With a lead on Garrus, who supposedly hunting around for information on a case at the nearby ward clinic, Shepard made his way back through the wards towards where his map said the clinic would be. They ran into Chorban in the markets, who took little persuading to reveal the illegal parts of his operation. Despite it all Shepard couldn't beget the Salarian's curiosity, it was something that had affected him as a starting medic as well before the events of the Skyllian blitz. So despite his reservations Shepard agreed to keep scanning the keepers, as well as talking to Chorban's partner to keep quiet in order to sort the whole matter out.

Shepard had also gotten Chorban to give him 10% extra for each scan! Including the ones he had done thus far, meaning he now had over 20,000 credits in his account that he could use for intel gathering. That had been Ashley's suggestion and Shepard mentally promised to get her a new pistol or something. Encouragement was always a good way of promoting useful ideas after all.

They ended up taking a wrong turn as they made their way there, not that he would admit that when Kaidan brought it up, ending up in the club flux rather than the clinic. It had caused them to head straight back to Chora's den after Shepard overheard the conversation between one of the waitresses and the bartender. Informants were hardly new to him, he had several from his N7 days after all, but with how easily Rita had parted with the information about her sister's status he knew that this was serious enough to take priority over Garrus.

They arrived just in time to see Jenna, who Shepard recognised from the picture Rita had shown him, getting manhandled by a pair of Turians off to one side of the bar area. Hearing the word "snitch" and seeing no one making any move to help the poor girl, Shepard weighed into the rather one sided brawl with his fists. His first blow caught the back of the nearest Turians head, the armour like skin cracking under the force as the Turian rocked from the blow before turning to see who his assailant was. The Turian attempted an overhead swing which Shepard ducked before grabbing the arm and flipping the Turian over his shoulder.

The other Turian took a run at him in time to catch a body check from Kaidan whilst Ashley made sure the other attacker was out for the count. Jenna was bruised and a little bloodied as he grabbed her arm and pulled her up, but she was still cognisant enough to ask questions as she swayed slightly. "What...who are you guys?"

Any further conversation was interrupted by the Turian Kaidan body checked staggering to his feet. "C-Sec bastards, you and you little spy won't get away with this." The atmosphere in the den dropped noticeably at that and Shepard decided discretion was the better part of valour.

Turning to leave with Jenna on one arm he saw a couple of the patrons move to block the exit and realised that perhaps intimidation would be necessary here to stop a full on mobbing taking place. With a wave of his hand he threw one into the wall whilst Kaidan lifted the other out of the way. Turning back to the other patrons Shepard gestured around the bar with a slight smirk on his face. "Anyone else? No? Good." And turned away before anyone could react, striding out the door and trying not to show how nervous he was.

Jenna had directed them to C-Sec where a Turian officer named Chellick was waiting for them with medi-gel in hand. After they explained what happened the Turian chuckled and shook his head. "No offence commander, but what the hell were you thinking? You could have had the whole bar after your head." Shepard shrugged. "I saw Jenna needed help and didn't back down, the people in that place don't want a death of an Alliance commander on their hands, it's bad for business."

Chellick nodded and with Jenna now asleep on a makeshift bed in his office, talk turned to why she had been there. With her cover blown it hadn't taken much to convince him to cut her loose of C-sec investigations, in return for Shepard helping expose an illegal gun smuggling operation. Knowing what such often faulty and dangerous weaponry could do to the balance of power on the citadel, Shepard agreed to talk to Jax and get Chellick his evidence.

But such a mission could wait until he had found Garrus, which was the most time sensitive thing to do on his list. They took the transport system to the clinic entrance, though what they found inside was not what Shepard expected. They seemed to have walked in in the middle of a gang hit, with a human woman surrounded by three burly men pleading that she hadn't said anything to anyone on the far side of the main counter. Garrus was also there, sneaking forwards out of sight of the ganders, probably to get a better shot.

The leader of the gangers noticed the door opening at their arrival though, grabbing the woman and using her as a shield as he raised a pistol in Shepard's direction. "Who are you!"

Shepard drew his own pistol as the three of them moved into the room. "Let her go kid." He shifted to the right, the man following him with his pistol, exposing him further as Garrus spun round the far end of the counter. The Turian wasted no time, dropping the man in a single shot as the woman called out in shock. She dropped to the floor as Garrus stood with pistol ready.

There had been four other gangers present, but they were badly trained and equipped, meaning it did not take long to deal with them. Walking up to Garrus as he holstered his pistol, the Turian seemed more than happy to see him. "Perfect timing Shepard, you even gave me a clear shot at the bastard."

Shepard shook his head, whilst things had worked out it had been a close run thing and if he hadn't shown up... "You took a big risk, if I hadn't have been there you could have hit the hostage. And the other four would probably have overwhelmed you. "

Garrus spluttered for a moment, obviously realising his mistake as he turned back to the doctor. "There wasn't time to think about it, I just reacted. I didn't mean to, Dr Michel are you hurt?"

The newly named Dr Michel shook her head as she brushed herself off and looked around the room. "No I am fine thanks to you. Those were Fists men; they wanted me to not tell Garrus about the Quarian."

Shepard quirked an eyebrow at the information, he wasn't sure where this was going to end up going. "A Quarian? I assumed this has to do with the investigation into Saren you were doing Garrus?"

Garrus nodded before speaking shortly. "I think it might, tell us what you know Dr Michel."

Dr Michel seemed unsure for a moment before squaring her shoulders and speaking quickly. "A few days ago a Quarian came to the clinic. She had been shot, but she wouldn't tell me who had done it or let me contact the authorities. I see cases like this all the time, probably on the run from someone or something. She wanted to know about the shadow broker, said she wanted to trade information for a safe place to hide. I put her in contact with Fist, who is a broker for the Shadow Broker here on the wards."

Garrus shook his head at this. "Not anymore he doesn't, Fist now works for Saren and the Shadow Broker isn't too happy about that. If we haven't heard anything since, I am assuming that Fist now has the Quarian and that the Quarian has something Saren wants, enough that he is prepared to piss off the Shadow Broker to get it."

Dr Michel suddenly snapped her fingers. "Geth, the information she wanted to trade was about the Geth." Garrus looked even more pleased than before and Shepard could easily understand why given the new information. "Whatever she has might be able to link Saren to the Geth. The council cannot ignore that."

Shepard nodded in agreement but given the body count he had already stacked up on his investigation thus far he had something he needed to do first. "It sounds like we need to go pay Fist a visit then. Want to come with us Garrus? I need to talk to Pallin but I think this will go over better if this little trip has his sanctioning before we blow up any more of the Citadel."

Garrus looked at him as if he had just spoken in another language; obviously the idea hadn't occurred to him to go straight to the top of the pecking order. "I-I didn't think of that, I just thought we were going to charge on down there and take names. Speaking of names, there is someone else we could enlist if we were going to try and keep this low key. There is a bounty hunter, a Krogan by the name of Urdnot Wrex. He has been hired to remove Fist from the Shadow Broker's list of problems and from the reports I have read is more than worth the effort of joining up with."

Shepard couldn't argue with that, a Krogan was equivalent to a force of nature being unleashed, very good to have on your side in a fight. "Sounds a good plan, but first, let us go talk to his employer and make sure we won't have bounty hunters coming after us next if we do bring him into our little group."

Time skip:

They had headed up to the Presidium to go and talk to Barla Von at that point, Shepard sending Kaidan off to inform the Elcor ambassador of the news the General had given him as well as updating Captain Anderson and executor Pallin of what was going on. Those conversations would keep him busy for some time so he had told Kaidan to wait in the embassy and he would come and fetch him once he had sorted things, more than three people running around on the citadel and things got crowded anyway.

Barla Von had not really revealed anything new other than it seemed Saren was making more enemies than they had thought, having stepped on several large groups toes in the last year in a blunt manner that seemed unlike the normally cautious and. With that lead being a bust Shepard received confirmation from Kaidan that the Elcor diplomat had been informed of the truth and was backing down, but that Pallin wished to speak with him via comm link. Making his way towards the consorts building Shepard accepted the incoming call.

"Shepard, your lieutenant has informed me of what you have found and what happened in Dr Michel's clinic. I have teams setting up some security there now in case anyone else tries something. Your lieutenant wouldn't tell me what you think you will find with Fist, but given that Garrus has joined up with you I will assume it is to do with Saren and not ask. C-Sec is not the most secure place for that kind of talk. I will clear a 'C-Sec' raid of the premise when you call me to let me know you are going in, less chances of leaks that way. Anything else I should know commander?" Shepard thought about it and decided to keep the executor in the know, best to keep such an ally on their side.

"I am planning on enlisting a Krogan who is also after fist to help us raid the place, with the number of thugs Fist has he will prove useful."

He heard Pallin sigh before answering. "Wrex I presume? Be careful commander, that's one tough bastard you're enlisting. I will get my men to release him, he will be in C-sec shortly if you wish to try and talk to him. Pallin out." Well at least it was good to know that they were now going to be killing people under official sanctions.

The consort had been... Well appreciative was probably the best word for her attitude. She had given them credits as well as a strange trinket that she felt would be best in his hands, but it was her words that struck Shepard. She summed up his past and present feelings with a few simple lines, digging deeper than anyone had ever managed to before and healing scars he had long forgotten festering in the darkness. It was in that moment that Shepard truly respected her abilities to read a person, leaving him slightly humbled as he departed the consort's chambers, with one of the attendants grabbing him in the lobby and giving him a number to contact them and the consort if he needed them once more.

With his mind at peace, Shepard headed for the transit system point; he had a Krogan to talk to...

Time skip:

Two grenades and a hail of fire destroyed the turrets set up at the back of the office as Shepard threw Fist against the back wall of his work room. "Where is the Quarian Fist?" Shepard ground out as he pointed his pistol at Fists head. "She's not here; I don't know where she is. That is the truth!" Judging by the chuckle from Wrex as he and Ashley finished checking for other hostiles whilst Garrus dealt with the safe combination in the room, that answered pleased him.

Why it did so was made clear by the Krogan's next words. "Well, he is no use to you now Shepard. Let me kill him and we can get onto searching for this Quarian in peace." Shepard didn't know whether Wrex had done it on purpose but he had managed to make Fist want to talk a whole lot more.

"Wait! I don't know where she is right now but I know where she will be soon. She ran off soon after arriving, only wanted to deal with the shadow broker himself. I knew it was impossible but she didn't need to know that, I sent her a meeting time and place. When she shows up, it will be Saren's men waiting for her not the shadow brokers."

Shepard growled and grasped Fist by the neck pulling him close. "Tell me where the meeting is. Now!"

Fist visibly baulked and was quick to continue talking. "It's not far from here, in the back alley behind the market; she is supposed to be meeting them in ten minutes. You can make it if you hurry."

Shepard let go of him intending to do just that, when Fist suddenly drew a grenade out from his armour. "But not if I...urgh!"

Before he could finish his statement Wrex and Ashley had each fired a shotgun round, leaving him a bloody stain on the walls as the grenade dropped to the ground having never been armed. Wrex shook his head with a muffled grunt of "Idiot!" even as Shepard grabbed the grenade and put it on his belt to replace one of the ones he had used to destroy the turrets.

Garrus quickly connected to the storage device that had been attached to Fists desk, waving them off as Shepard moved to help him.. "You go for the Quarian, I will see what else I can find here before the official team arrives and copy it all, don't want to risk one of them being loyal to Saren and destroying evidence."

Remembering they were on a clock and that if Fist had known they were coming so had Saren, Shepard turned quickly and headed for the door, calling out on the way. "Wrex, are you still with us?"

The Krogan fell in behind him with another throaty chuckle. "And miss the chance to smash heads and cause prolific violence without getting into too much trouble for it? What do you think Shepard?"

Time skip: five minutes

Racing to the location Fist had given them, Shepard could overhear the conversation taking place as the three of them moved into cover. The lead Turian approached the Quarian, obviously in a hurry to get the job done with. "Did you bring it?"

Rather than reply straight away the Quarian took a step away from him cautiously. "Where is the shadow broker? Where is Fist?" She was surprisingly firm for someone who was outnumbered 3-1.

The Turian seemed to resist the urge to groan. "They will be here, now where is the evidence."

Obviously he had said or done something wrong as the Quarian took another step back before giving her answer. "No way, the deal is off." Obviously the wrong thing to say as the two Salarian loiterers who had been waiting in the background drew their pistols ominously. The Quarian sprinted away from them towards cover, throwing a grenade with surprising accuracy between the two of them, knocking them to the floor. Shepard stood from cover and fired even as the Turian assassin clipped the Quarian with a pair of shots to the shoulder. Wrex charged in, forgoing shooting for momentum as he bodily picked the Turian up and slammed him across the room. Ashley dropped the still alive Salarian leaving Shepard to rush to the Quarian.

Her shields and armour had absorbed most of the blow, but she was still bleeding from the shoulder and breathing heavily. She seemed to ignore that though as she rounded on them angrily. "Fist set me up! I knew I couldn't trust him."

Knowing how Quarian armour and their immune systems worked, Shepard applied a shot of medi-gel to the nearest port on the armour. "That should fix you up enough to get you out of here. Do you have any other injuries that you need treating before we move?"

The Quarian seemed surprised at his accurate treatment and general sentiment before shaking her head. "I was unlucky; I know how to look after myself. Sorry, that was rude; I do appreciate your assistance even if the Krogan seems a little... Bloodthirsty. Who are you and why did you help me?"

Looking over to where the Turians head had been ripped from its shoulders Shepard couldn't help but agree with her assessment. "He is effective though you have to admit. I am Commander Shepard and I am leading an investigation into the Spectre Saren and his ties with the Geth. It was lucky that our investigation lead us here when it did."

Her laboured breathing had relaxed a little now and she seemed a little more stable on her feet. "Well commander, it seems like I have a way of repaying saving my life after all. But we shouldn't do it here. More of these men might come if they don't report in. We need somewhere safe for this discussion." The sound of movement from behind them caused everyone to turn with weapons raised, relaxing when they saw it was Garrus. Reaching across Shepard forced the Quarian's pistol down gently.

"Don't worry, he is with us. Is C-Sec turning Chora's den over then?"

Garrus nodded and held up a credit chip and a storage device, "They are doing it now, found lots of illegal drugs, weapons and even a couple of women who have been missing for a few days in the back room. The Sergeant in charge took over and seemed very intent on getting me to leave, but not before I removed a copy of all the data on Fists computer. C-Sec will want to cover this all up, but I think it's time for some truth to get out on this whole thing."

Thinking back to Wong and her request for information, Shepard hummed before nodding. "Give it here Garrus; I think I know just the person for the expose. Now, let's get to Pallin's office and let him know what has happened, we can discuss the evidence there and I can make sure that our newest member is properly patched up." His comment had the Quarian turn to him with body language that screamed surprised and unsure, emotions that seemed very in line with her cautious and socially awkward attitude. Something he would have to get to the bottom of when they had finished their official business...

Time skip: An hour

The debriefing had been interesting to say the least, with executor Pallin seeming more on his side than Udina did, the human ambassador stormed in shouting at Shepard about the reports of gun battles on the wards only for the executor to shove the paperwork in his face proving Shepard had acted as a contracted C-sec agent for the operation and therefore had done nothing wrong. The credits that had been added to the groups various accounts definitely helped the feeling of satisfaction that had built up inside at seeing Udina lost for words.

The Quarian introduced herself at Tali'Zorah nah Rayya, on her 'Pilgrimage' or rite of passage, something she explained as a tradition that brought new resources and knowledge back to the rather stretched Quarian fleet. Her report made it clear that not only was she talented and capable, but also that she had an intimate knowledge of the Geth that went far beyond anyone else Shepard knew. Making a note to keep an eye out for other Quarian's with similar knowledge Shepard found a new respect for the race he had never really dealt with and had rather foolishly believed the general consensus that they were thieves and beggars for the most part.

Despite this, it was the file she recovered that was the true gold mine they had been looking for, as Saren's voice spoke out loudly and clearly for all to hear. "Eden Prime was a major victory. The beacons message has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit." The look on Pallin's face made Shepard's day even as Tali had injected into their conversation about what the conduit was, revealing that Saren had not been working alone.

After pressing a button on her omni tool another voice spoke, this one female and sounded Asari-like more than anything. "And one step closer to the return of the reapers." There was silence for a moment before

Udina spoke, looked as puzzled at this new revelation as the rest of the did.. "I don't recognise the voice, the one talking about the reapers."

Pallin shook his head as well. "Neither do I, but this is definitely enough for the council to get Saren removed from the Spectres. I will ask for an emergency appointment with them now." He moved off to the far wall, leaving them to talk amongst themselves.

Unsure of what the female had been referring to, Shepard brought up his query. "What are these reapers she refers to? Some kind of new alien species we are going to have to worry about?"

Tali shook her head and answered before anyone else could. "According to the Geth data banks I have retrieved over the last two years the reapers are a race of hyper advanced machines that completely wiped out the Prothean's 50,000 years ago before vanishing. That is what the Geth believe anyway." Suddenly the vision he had received on Eden Prime made a lot more sense, prompting his defence of Tali when Udina dismissed her argument. Udina was right about the council however and Shepard knew it was going to be a tough sell.

Pallin came over with an also smug look on his face. "The council will see us in half an hour. Get your team up there ready Commander, it's your show."

Wrex brought up the elephant in the room as he pointed at Tali. "And what do we do with the Quarian? And I don't know whether or not I am counted in 'your team' or not Shepard."

Shepard had been planning on offering both of them a spot on his newly formed team of misfits even before she stood up for herself and replied hotly. "My name is Tali! Commander, you saw me in the alley, you know I can stand up for myself and that I am knowledgeable in combating the Geth. Please take me onto your squad; otherwise I will have to return to the flotilla with nothing."

Shepard decided to bite at the unsubtle lead the Quarian had obviously left for him to bite on. "Why would you need to return to the fleet? What about your pilgrimage?"

Tali wrung her hands together uncomfortably at this. "With me giving you this data, I have nothing to give the Shadow broker in return for protection against any other agents Saren has. That means that the only way I will be safe is to return to the fleet or join your crew, at least then I will not have to watch my back all of the time."

It was a surprisingly realistic outlook for one so young, reinforcing Shepard's opinion of her even as he nodded his assent. "Well I could use all the help we can get, and I am sure that Captain Anderson won't mind having a Geth specialist aboard in case we encounter them again whilst hunting Saren."

Anderson nodded. "Very true, the alliance has no real knowledge of the Geth, so your information will prove more than useful. I am happy to bring you aboard the Normandy, but you will have to agree to several conditions before doing so."

Tali nodded eagerly, almost jumping up and down with happiness. "Thank you, captain, Commander, this means so much to me."

Both Garrus and Wrex seemed to be waiting for word to the same effect from him and Shepard knew that he wanted them based on the skills he had seen thus far. "The same could be said for a C-sec investigator and a Krogan of any kind, we will need the extra manpower and they have already proved very reliable in finding information both electronically and otherwise. But I wouldn't want to take Garrus away from his duties here without consulting you first Executor."

Pallin chuckled to himself as he looked across at Garrus then back to Shepard. "You are getting a little ahead of yourself Commander; I would wait until the Council officially swear you in as a Spectre before gathering a strike team." Shepard was surprised at the certainty in the man's voice; and it obviously showed on his face as Pallin gestured at him then at his screen on his desk. "I saw your display in the Council chambers before and that was better investigatory instincts and skill than most Spectre veterans possess. Then there is the fact that you have been on the citadel for less than 24 hours and yet you have done more to take out organised crime in the wards than my operatives have managed in a month, with half the paperwork and minimal collateral damage. I have already put my personal recommendation into the council, as have the Elcor and Hanar diplomats. If the council didn't make you a Spectre as a result of showing Saren's true colours there would be a political uproar that they would struggle to survive."

The Executor had obviously been keeping tabs on Shepard since he had first gone to see him and that made him wonder exactly what else the wizened Turian knew about Shepard's activities. Not that he was going to look a gift horse in the mouth however as having the head of C-Sec on his side was already paying dividends from the sounds of it. Bidding the Turian farewell Shepard's group with Anderson and Udina in tow began to move towards the stairs.

As they made their way down to the embassy entrance, an Indian looking man approached and announced his intent in a respectful but urgent manner. "Commander Shepard? Could I have a moment of your time? I am sorry to disturb you but I have nowhere else to turn to."

Shepard gestured to the others, the man probably was connected to the work he had done on the wards today and just wanted to talk about it, he had the time to spare and talking with people rarely did any harm.. "This will probably not take long, go on ahead and I will grab the next transit car. It's not a problem sir, what can I do to help?" Shepard noticed out of the corner of his eye Kaidan and Ashley discuss something for a moment before Ashley moved back to him, Tali not having moved from his left side at all. Wrex chuckled, something the rather surprisingly well-humoured Krogan seemed to do a lot. "Someone already seems to be watching your back in a manner of speaking, see you up there Shepard."

Ashley blushed slightly at this and whilst Tali had her armour to hide such an obvious hint at her emotions, her shifting body language told much the same story. Turning back to the man as the others walked off, Shepard gestured for him to continue. "I am Samesh Bhatia and I wanted to speak about my wife. She was a marine serving in the 212." Ashley spoke up at this point with a slight surprised tone. "Wait, the 212? Your wife was serviceman Nirali Bhatia? I am Gunnery Sergeant Ashley Williams, I served in her unit."

The man gave a testy smile as he nodded but his voice when he spoke was full of genuine affection. "Chief Williams, it is a pleasure. Nirali spoke of you with great respect."

Ashley seemed to be remembering the woman in question as she replied. "She was a great woman to serve with and be a friend of. I am so sorry for your loss Mr Bhatia, what can we do for you?"

The man shook for a moment, anger and agony in equal measure clear on his face. "I requested that my wife's body be returned to me for cremation, but the military has refused my request."

Shepard frowned, that was definitely not something the military would normally refuse. "Did they give a reason for this?"

Samesh shook his head, seeming completely at a loss at the way events had gone for him. "They did not; all I know is that they declared that my wife's body could not be returned to me."

Shepard could think of several reasons why the body could not be returned, especially if she had been turned into one of those husks, but he decided this was worth a very quick detour. "I will do my best to get your wife's body returned to you, or at least find out the true reason why it can't be. I won't lie to you though Mr Bhatia, a reason they don't want to release your wife's body to you that is because it is to prevent you any further pain." Samesh nodded and pointed him in the direction of the man in charge of the case, who was supposedly working in the embassy lounge.

Heading up to the bar area Shepard saw the man, a Mr Bosker, leaning against one of the pillars having a drink. Walking over to him, Shepard didn't get a chance to start as the man straightened up and started speaking. "My goodness, you are Commander Shepard aren't you?"

Shepard heard Tali whisper to Ashley "How does everyone know Shepard? I don't know anyone who has such widespread acclaim amongst the Quarian fleet other than the Admirals."

The point about his unrealised and rather unwanted fame rested firmly in the back of Shepard's mind even as he went to reply. "Mr Bosker, I am here to discuss the trouble Samesh Bhatia is having with claiming his wife's body. Now I was on Eden Prime so I know that some of the bodies are unreturnable, but I don't think that this is the case here otherwise you would have told him that."

Bosker reached up and grabbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Ah yes, a frustrated man in a difficult position, I wish I could help him. The reason we are holding her body is that her wounds were inconsistent with any type of weapon damage we have seen before. If we can study these wound we may be able to..."

Shepard shook his head and Bosker trailed off, memories of his past breaking through into the tone of his reply. "When the Batarian slavers attacked Mindoir all of those years, they killed my whole family and if I hadn't managed to escape I would have joined them. My father's body was the only one the Alliance recovered after the incident. The weapon used to kill him had been coated in some kind of toxin that the alliance had never encountered, so despite my protests they took his body away for 'some short tests'. I never got to bury him; some clerical mix up meant they burnt his body whilst I was at the academy. So I know why the body could be useful Bosker, but we don't need it that much."

Bosker seemed too shocked by the personal to speak for a moment, and Shepard could tell by the silence behind him the others were similarly surprised, before he nodded shakily. "You, you are right Commander, I will oversee the transfer myself. I had no idea." The man walked away stiffly as Shepard struggled to control the memories he had just brought back to the surface.

A hand on his shoulder calmed him and Ashley spoke softly, quite different from her normal brash and ready persona. "Commander, do you need a moment?"

Shaking his head to clear the mind, Shepard turned around and headed for the door, but he made sure to toss a thankful smile to the now back to normal marine. "No, let us go tell Mr Bhatia the good news then head up, we cannot keep the council waiting." To uncover a Spectres true motives and if all goes well to secure his own momentous position amongst the legendary organisation, certainly not a bad final achievement to add to what had already been a very productive day...

**A/N: And there we have the first big changes in the canonical story, as small as they seem at the moment. Shepard shows that he is definitely not just a walking talking gun for hire and actually has more to offer as a Spectre than just combat skills and he doesn't just stand in front of the council straight away and pretty much shout 'I had a dream, believe it with no supporting evidence!' Something which always made me a little frustrated at Shepard in the original game and in the following council meetings. Let me know what you guys think by reviewing! And favouriting and following etc etc.**

**Defias out.**


	3. To Spectre is a great and wonderful thin

"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit." The sound of Saren's voice being played out loud as he walked up the stairs brought a surprising feeling of smug satisfaction to Shepard's stomach, the Turian had been too cocky about their accusations and was now going to pay for it in spades.

"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers." The unfamiliar voice still vexed Shepard, Saren obviously still had pawns hidden in the shadows and every one of them would give him another advantage. Udina stepped forwards and pointed imperiously up at the Council.

"You wanted proof. There it is." It seemed that the Council had realised the magnitude of their folly as none of them rebuked Udina for his pomp, instead the Turian councillor was almost reticent when he spoke.

"This proof is irrefutable, Ambassador. Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and all efforts will be made to bring him to justice." When the Turian finished speaking the Asari spoke with a slightly disbelieving tone tinging her melodic voice.

"I recognise that other voice, the one speaking with Saren in the recording. As much as I don't want to believe it, that is the voice of Matriarch Benezia." Shepard was not as up to date with Asari culture as he would perhaps have liked, but anyone with an obviously powerful title like Matriarch was not someone he wanted on Saren's side.

"I am unfamiliar with the term Matriarch and this Benezia Councillor, would you please enlighten us?" The Asari nodded, tone firmer as she spoke of the culture of her people.

"Matriarchs are powerful Asari who have entered the final stages of their lives. They are revered for their wisdom and collected experiences, often they serve as guides or teachers to my people. Due to their hallowed status, Matriarchs are venerated by many young Asari who will follow their path almost without question. Matriarch Benezia is one of the most powerful biotics of her generation and her teachings have given her many followers. If for whatever reason she has allied herself with Saren, then she will give him a formidable array of resources to wield in addition to his established Spectre network." Shepard felt like turning and smashing his head against a wall, an ex-Spectre with an army of Geth and allied with a very powerful Asari with a sizable force of her own at her beck and call? This day just keeps getting better and better. The Salarian spoke up in the ensuing silence, obviously eager to shift the focus away from what was quickly becoming an Asari political embarrassment.

"I am more interested in Saren's mention of the Reapers in the recording, obviously if he was on Eden Prime for the Beacon as has now been proven, he is trying to gather information on them. Captain Anderson, Commander Shepard, what do you know about them?" Anderson took a step forward and Shepard let his superior speak, he could tag on any other information the captain didn't mention at the end.

"Only what Tali here managed to extract from the Geth data core along with the recording about Saren." The mention and gesture to the nervous Quarian girl had the Salarian narrow his eyes in distaste whilst the Turian full on frowned, the two's expressions making Tali look like she was about to bolt. As Anderson carried on speaking Shepard made a rather rash decision and stepped across to stand between Tali and the council, crossing his arms and giving a blank stare as the Turian focussed on him whilst the Salarian looked away a little uncomfortably. "The Reapers are an ancient race of machine that wiped out the Protheans before suddenly, they vanish from the known galaxy." Seeing his chance to interject with his view as Anderson finished speaking, Shepard spoke up, his eyes never leaving the Turian councillors own.

"The Geth seem to revere the Reapers almost as Gods and whether using the Geth for his own ends or because he actually believes he can do so, Saren is becoming their Prophet for the Reapers return. Whatever this Conduit is that Saren mentions, it is obviously key to bringing them back. That is why he attacked Eden Prime, he is searching for it and the Beacon was a clue." The Councillors looked unconvinced even as Shepard spoke, but that was unsurprising as it was one hell of a tough sell.

"Do we even know what the conduit is that they are searching for?" The Salarian was at least being objective if sceptical about the whole thing which was something Shepard could certainly respect. Seeing Anderson glance at him it was obvious he was to field the question.

"No we don't, but does that really matter Councillors? Saren believes it exists and has shown that he will happily destroy entire colonies in his attempts to find it." The Turian almost didn't speak at that comment, seeming to second guess himself for a moment before uttering a response.

"Listen to yourself Commander. You think that Saren wants to bring back an armada of machines that wiped out all advanced life in the galaxy 50,000 years ago? It is impossible nonsense. It has to be. If the Reapers do exist, where did they go? Why would they leave after completely winning what must have been a costly conflict for them? And there has been no trace of their existence other than a few garbled texts obviously written by mad men? If they were real, we would have had to have found something!" Obviously the Turian was more focussed on quelling the panic that would arise from the existence of a galaxy cleansing machine attack than trying to prevent the possibility of it happening. Shepard sighed, he could already see where this was going.

"Regardless of whether or not the Reapers are still around, the fact that Saren is searching the galaxy for them is proof enough we need to take action, better to have taken action needlessly than have been caught unawares." The Asari shook her head, which didn't really surprise Shepard all that much.

"What you are proposing is different to the issue of dealing with Saren. I will admit we were wrong about Saren and you proved that, for some reason he is after this conduit device, but we do not really know why. The Reapers are obviously just a myth Commander, one that Saren is using both to utilise the Geth as well as to hide his true purpose, whatever that may be." The Salarian seemed a bit unsure of the Asari's words but kept his mouth shut as the Turian councillor weighed in.

"Not that it matters any more, Saren has been stripped of his title, resources and manpower. Whatever he hoped to achieve will be difficult whilst he has no means to achieve them." Shepard actually couldn't believe the Turian's comment given what they had just discussed, barely restraining himself from shouting out as Udina spoke once more.

"That is not enough, we know he is hiding in the Traverse somewhere, we should send in a fleet and root him out!" The Salarian shook his head.

"A fleet is not a suitable implement for hunting down one man Ambassador. Such an action could well trigger a war with the Terminus systems, something that would be a far greater catastrophe than Saren's individual actions." Enough was enough Shepard thought, obviously the Council were now trying to collectively sweep the whole problem under the proverbial rug and there was no way he was going to let that happen without a fight.

"I'm sorry Councillors, but I feel you are failing to grasp the size of Saren's resources here. He has an Asari Matriarch allied to him which you yourself said would give him a large number of followers, contacts and power enough to turn one of the Shadow Brokers agents traitor without even being present on the citadel and of course the small factor of the army of Geth and their ship which is roughly the size of the Ascension! The man probably has more resources available to him now than most Alliance fleets and we are not taking any serious action over it?" He had probably gone to far, judging by the looks both Captain Anderson and Udina were sending him, but someone had to say it. Whilst the Turian councillor looked ready to leap across and attack Shepard for his insolence, the Salarian looked thoughtful and slightly abashed.

"You... You definitely do not hide your feelings or mince your words Commander Shepard, something I think my fellow Councillors are not used to. I agree with you, this is a threat we cannot simply ignore but you must understand, we as the Council cannot bring the Galaxy into turmoil rashly. Even with the threat Saren poses to humanities colonies." The Salarian's words seemed to light a fire in Udina as he whirled back to face the council, voice loud and angry.

"Enough, I have had it with the anti-human resentment shown here, you have in effect given this lap-dog of yours enough power and resources to damage humanities interests for decades if not centuries to come, and now we have proof he was acting against us you say you will do nothing? You might as well be giving Saren's attacks against us your personal blessing!" Shepard had to admit Udina had a surprising gift for altering the tone and meaning of a conversation to his advantage as from the viewing corridors off to either side there was suddenly an angry muttering from human and alien alike at the idea this could just be one giant Council black-ops mission. The Asari councillor seemed to realise they had been backed into a corner as she raised her arms for silence, the quiet taking some time to be achieved as C-sec officials moved quickly to be stood at the forefront of the milling crowds of ambassadors and officials. When she felt that order had been restored and that C-sec were properly in control of the situation, the Asari councillor spoke with a hint of anger of her own inflecting noticeably on her hushed tone.

"I would remind you of who you are speaking to before you accuse us so blatantly of corruption and wrongdoing Ambassador Udina! We have not and will not give Saren any such support that you have alluded to, but for us to strike out into the Terminus blindly and without direction would be worse for everyone including humanity. What I was going to say before your brazen attempt at mob politics hit the stage was that there is another option, one that does not involve fleets or armies directly." The Turian Councillor seemed to understand what she was getting at and slammed a fist into the podium.

"No! Humanity is not ready for the responsibility..." The Turian though obviously incensed trailed off quickly as the Asari turned a baleful glare in his direction even as grumbling erupted in the watching crowds once more. She assessed the tension in the room before whispering across to the Turian, Shepard only catching it as he had his suit microphone trained on her.

"This situation is already a political nightmare as it is, if we are seen to do nothing now the Alliance could well break from the Council if not worse! This way we do not risk Galactic war and give humanity what we were going to give them anyway!" With that the Asari looked over to the Salarian Councillor, who nodded quickly before turning back to face the three humans. The Turian looked like he was going to refuse for a moment but then all three typed something into the console in front of them, the Asari councillor speaking up a moment later.

"Commander Shepard, step forward." A glance to Shepard's right and a quick nod from Anderson told Shepard that this was about to be the big moment he had been told to expect upon landing on the Citadel from Eden Prime. Stepping up so that he was stood next to Udina, he looked around to see the viewing platforms quiet and in obvious anticipation of what was to come. "It is the decision of the Council, having reviewed your actions both on Eden Prime and before that, to grant you all of the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Council." This was obviously a scripted piece of the ceremony as the Salarian Councillor spoke up without pause.

"Spectres are not trained, they are chosen for their fine qualities, forged in the fire of service and honed on the field, those whose actions raise them above others of rank and file." It seemed that for whatever reason the Turian was not getting to say anything as the Asari Councillor continued.

"The Spectres are an ideal, a symbol to the rest of the galaxy. The embodiment of courage, determination and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will. Spectres bear a great burden. They are the protectors of galactic peace, both the first and last line of defence. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold above all other oaths. You are the first human to have been granted the title of Spectre Commander, a great accomplishment for both you and your species as a whole." Seeing that this was in effect a rather weighty olive branch the Council were trying to pacify him with, Shepard decided to be the better man as he bowed his head.

"I am honoured by this Councillors. What would you wish for me to do?" The Salarian spoke up whilst the Asari and Turian exchanged words.

"We're sending you into the Traverse after the Rogue Saren. He is a fugitive from justice, so you are authorised to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him." The inflection made it clear which method the Salarian councillor would prefer, after all dead men cannot spread further embarrassment for their former masters at a trial.

"Any idea where I might start looking for him Councillors? The Traverse is a big space to cover..."

The Turian spoke at last, resigned to following the rest of the Council's path. "We will forward any relevant files to Ambassador Udina. Further discussion will take place in more... secure settings." With that it was clear the Council were finished, the Asari ending it promptly but could do nothing to stop the whispered conversations that were being conducted as the various spectators began to disperse. Shepard led Anderson and Udina down to where the rest of his motley team were waiting, Wrex being the first to step forwards and give Shepard a friendly shoulder thump that nearly sent him to the floor.

"Brilliant stuff Shepard, Ambassador, never seen a human treat the Council like that before, way more exciting than a normal meeting! Will make a Krogan out of you yet Shepard." Ashley seemed torn between amusement and horror at the idea, Tali giving an awkward giggle before speaking up herself.

"Yes, congratulations Shepar... I mean Spectre sir. Thank you for standing up for me up there." Shepard couldn't help but chuckle and grab the Quarian in a one armed hug.

"No sirs or anything like that, this promotion was as much to get the Council out of the political shit storm we created for them as anything else. I will take Shepard or Commander, as at least I have earned that particular title." A throaty chuckle alerted Shepard to the approach of Executor Palin, who worked his way through the half a dozen C-sec officers that were stopping the crowd of others from swarming.

"I wouldn't be quite so negative about it all Shepard, as I said before you were pretty much a shoe in for the job, though the subtle hint of riots on the citadel always helps bring the Council to a quick decision. I worry that if you can achieve this already, what you will be able to do when you have settled into your new position..." Shaking his head, Palin seemed to shudder slightly at the thought before continuing. "Of course, this was the easy part, there is still much you need to do I imagine. Garrus, come here." The Turian looked slightly nervous as he moved to stand in front of the Executor, who looked him up and down for a moment before raising a hand a lightly clouting Garrus round the head. Garrus seemed used to the action as he didn't even flinch as Palin shook his finger in front of him for a moment. "Garrus, no matter what I do you seem to get yourself into trouble and I get the feeling that you already have your heart set on getting into some more, am I right?" Garrus brought his hand up in a hurried salute before nodding.

"Executor, I request permission to take an extended leave of absence and continue my work with Commander Shepard in the apprehension of Saren." It was surprising to see Garrus act like the awkward subordinate given his normal attitude, but obviously the relationship between Pallin and Garrus was more complex than Shepard had initially thought. Pallin gave him a long look before facing Garrus once more.

"I am afraid I can't do that Investigator Garrus, taking a leave of absence would mean a suspension of your official powers and is completely unacceptable..." Pallin paused just long enough for Garrus' face to fall before letting a smile broach his face. "That is why you will instead get a transfer to a newly formed special operations unit, I just need Spectre Shepard to officially request it and the paperwork on my desk by the end of the day. Congratulations again for your Spectre status Commander, I hope you are ready for the responsibilities that come with your position..." And without waiting for a reply the Executor turned on his heel and moved towards the crowd, giving shouted orders even as he approached.

"The executor is right, there is much you will need Shepard and from the looks of it the Council is not giving it to you. You will need a ship, crew and supplies. Anderson, I will need you to help me prepare things for him. Get a nights rest Commander, I should have something for you in the morning." Udina seemed happier than Shepard had seen him thus far and shook hands with him quickly before the Ambassador rushed off. Anderson chuckled and shook his head as he stepped up and shook hands with him as well.

"Well, at least one of us is happy with what happened there. Congratulations again Commander, I will leave you with your new Special Ops group. I will file the transfer orders for Williams and Alenko this evening. I will be in the embassy if you need me Commander, but I suggest visiting the Spectre requisition officer in C-sec before you do anything else, after dealing with your new fans of course." As the flashes indicated the arrival of the Citadel press, Shepard cursed mentally even as he steeled himself for what was to come...

Timeskip: 24 hours.

It was an odd feeling to say the least, waking from a proper bed for the first time in almost two years, even more so doing so in the captain's room of his own ship. The gift of the Normandy to him was obviously as much a political move against Anderson as it was for him to utilise, but the old veteran had been a relatively good sport about it so Shepard couldn't get too mad about it. Realising that he had slept in slightly longer than normal he hurriedly moved for the shower, before getting changed quickly. Shepard had just gotten his combat fatigue trousers on when the door beeped open and Ashley stepped in. To her credit there was no obvious reaction to the uncomfortable situation as she snapped to attention.

"Sorry Commander, I assumed given the door being unlocked that you were awake and ready in here." She was keeping her gaze firmly on the wall to his left, which was the only sign of discomfort as he straightened up and grabbed his fatigue top.

"Not too worry Williams, I forgot to lock it when we boarded last night, it is hardly something I am used to. Now what is it you needed?" As he pulled the fatigue top down to cover his stomach he noticed Ashley fixed her gaze to his once more.

"Joker has just gotten clearance for our departure from Alliance tower and wanted you to know so you could give him a heading... Though now I think about it he could have just contacted you on the comm link." Shepard could almost see the cogs spinning in Ashley's head as she realised she had just been in effect pranked by the wily pilot, so he nodded his head whilst moving to the door, her falling in behind him with practiced ease.

"Joker likes to think himself a good practical joker, though I ask you don't break him when you go and deal with him, I need him in one piece to get us to the Hades Gamma cluster. Our first main target is this Matriarch's daughter, but I want to see if we can finish some of these other missions whilst Udina and Anderson narrow down her last location. We need more money and resources if we are going to start going head to head with Saren and the Geth." As they started climbing the steps to the command deck, Shepard decided that there was one last shot that he would get in whilst they were out of earshot of the crew. "By the way Williams, first I save your life and now this? I better be seeing this skirt of yours at dinner sooner rather than later or people will start talking..." She audibly gulped and he was chuckling even as they reached the top of the stairs, it was good to be captain...

Timeskip:

Of the many words that had been used to describe him over the years, one of the least used but probably the most accurate was 'scavenger'. Where he had developed the need to collect anything of value he came across was a topic that would later be of intense discussion between military psychologists. Was it something that had been built in the traumatic shift from being a somewhat well provided for child on Mindoir to suddenly becoming a desolated orphan lost in the system with nothing to his name? Or perhaps it developed from those desperate days on Elysium, where supplies dwindled away to the point where Shepard was forced to utilise the Batarians signature combat blades to defend his position from the last of the Batarian invaders?

Regardless of where it had sprouted from, Shepard was a pack rat to the extreme, which the crammed cargo deck of the Normandy alluded to after their quick flight to the Hades Gamma cluster. There was everything you could think of present, from weapons and armour of fallen enemies to food and medical supplies they had found whilst investigating planets of interest. They had even found a damaged but repairable light Mako type vehicle whilst investigating the disappearance of the missing survey team and a small unarmed transport vehicle being used by some scavengers, something that Shepard knew the Alliance would reward him handsomely for its return. Whilst the patriotic soldier in him objected to the idea of claiming a reward for what he had effectively looted from the dead Alliance team, his first conference call with Anderson assuaged those worries.

*Flashback*

Shepard had just finished explaining what he had found with the survey team and requested a drop off point for the equipment they had picked up to give it back to the Alliance fleet. Anderson seemed happier than Shepard had seen him since the trouble at Eden Prime.

"Good work Commander, I will see to it that the Alliance pencil pushers credit your account for the cost of the equipment." The older man raised his hand even as Shepard started to object, making the reasoning clear a moment later.

"The Alliance cannot fund your activities any more directly than we already have Shepard, as we discussed you are meant to be the Council's agent now not ours. But we can get around it the same way the other races have been doing for centuries, paying you as a mercenary team for doing missions for us and paying for the retrieval of Alliance equipment, personnel and weapons you come across whilst on those missions. Whilst it helps you in your pursuit of Saren, which is something the brass are very keen on assisting in any way they can, it also means that our equipment does not end up in the wrong hands. So you will be earning your rewards Shepard by saving the Alliance any number of political nightmares caused by criminal activities."

Captain Anderson looked off screen for a moment before focussing back on Shepard. "We are still trying to narrow down Dr Tsoni's last location more accurately than just somewhere in the Traverse, so you have a bit more time to get your team working smoothly before there is an urgent need to rush off anywhere. How are your new members fitting in? I can get you a list of Alliance personnel if you feel you need some more firepower?"

Shepard shook his head, he had arranged for the group to work in strike teams of 3, with Ashley and Tali with him whilst Kaidan lead Garrus and Wrex. There were also the two marine ground squads that were the normal compliment on the Normandy, but they had barely had time to land on the first mission before everything was over.

"Honestly sir I think four strike teams is enough for now, the husk like things did not know what hit them and they were in quite large numbers. Though I will warn you now, some of your equipment will be modified or repaired by the time we get it back to you, Garrus, Tali and the others have been rather... enthusiastic in their maintenance and repair work." Whilst Kaidan had been relatively uninvolved and Shepard would be the first to admit he was no mechanic, the other four members of their little team had quickly found a shared love of equipment and maintaining it. Tali and Garrus had almost disassembled the light Mako before putting it back together, whilst Ashley and Wrex had taken care of the weapons they had collected. What Shepard would be handing over was definitely going to be in better condition than the standard issue equipment. Anderson chuckled at this and shrugged.

"Make a note of any changes they have made Commander, it will save us work on our end after all. I have been hearing good things from Engineer Adams already regarding Tali and her expertise, that was a good catch you found there Commander. Now, Ambassador Udina is authorising an Alliance salvage ship to come collect your spoils, I will have the Captain contact you when he reaches the Hades Gamma cluster. Is there anything else you need Commander?"

*Flashback end*

With that confirmation and official approval of his operating methods Shepard had moved onto the next piece of information he had collected whilst on the citadel that might be worth investigating. The kidnapping of a senior parliamentary official by a group of unstable L2 biotics was definitely something that his team could help with, though this time he hoped to use a bit more diplomacy and a little less violence...

Timeskip: 2 hours.

The MSV Ontario had obviously been in the middle of changing hiding places when the Normandy had arrived in system, the haulage ship making a hard burn for the nearby asteroid belt as Joker scanned the system. A single shot from the Normandy had damaged its engines to slow it to a crawl whilst Shepard, Wrex and Ashley took a shuttle to dock quietly with the ship whilst it was still slowing to a stop. The biotics hadn't noticed their arrival until the three of them were already amongst them, shotguns and biotics blazing. Whilst most of the biotics had been violent without any allowance for reasoning or surrender, their leader had been whilst holding their target, Chairman Burns at gunpoint. Shepard managed to convince the remaining biotics that they had only one way to ensure that they and people like them could come out of this well and that was by keeping Burns alive in order to avoid them all being labelled pariahs or terrorists.

With the biotics pacified and Burns safe, Shepard had contacted the Fifth fleet, which was performing anti-pirate operations in the region and they had promised to send a frigate to provide transport for the Chairman and the prisoners back to Earth. They would also send an engineering team with the frigate to repair the engines on the Ontario and then transport it back into Alliance space, after all there was no such thing as too many ships for the Alliance to have, even if they just sold it onto a private company.

Whilst waiting for the frigate to arrive in system so as not to leave the beleaguered frigate on its own at risk of pirate attack, Joker had suggested that they use their scanners to do some recon work in the region on the Alliances behalf, as it was still one of the many planetary systems in the Traverse that had not been investigated by the overstretched Alliance exploratory fleets. Shepard had left the pilot to it as he and Pressley knew more about the readings they would receive than he would.

Such belief was quickly rewarded with reports quickly coming in of finding mineral and element deposits in the system including several high mineral content asteroids, proof that the powerful scanners that the Alliance had invested in for the Normandy were worth it. They had even located three shipwrecks, two in orbit whilst one was on the surface of one of the outer planets. Marking the locations on his galaxy map Shepard was now wishing he hadn't immobilised the Ontario in order to board it, the haulage ship could easily have picked up a couple of the asteroids and transported them back to Alliance headquarters.

But that was something to consider for the future as the Fifth fleet cruiser appeared on the Normandy's long range scans, now it was time to scan the final planetary system in the Hades Gamma cluster, the Dis system. Once he was sure there was no Geth activity he could link to Saren here, he could then move onto the next mission, which was Admiral Kahoku's missing team in the Artemis Tau region, who knew what was going to be waiting for his team there...

Timeskip:

"Well Shepard, you don't do things in half measures do you. I have Alliance teams moving in to secure the crime bases you have cleared with your team, the exploration fleet are already salivating over the scans and resource information you have sent through. Have you had any contact with the Geth or Saren on your travels? And do you want me to send someone to collect the slaves you just freed?" Looking at the two dozen slaves of various races they had just freed from a slaver base on Sharjila in the Macedon system before Joker had informed him that Captain Anderson wanted to contact him, Shepard shook his head.

"No need Captain, I will return them to the Citadel after I have located Dr Tsoni. Speaking of which, do you have any news of her whereabouts or should I keep searching?" The holographic image of Anderson was distorted for a moment before Udina appeared next to him, ever present frown on his face.

"The Asari consulate were as usual difficult and mysterious, but with a Council mandate for the information relating to this Matriarch Benezia I managed to get enough information to be able to tell you that this Liara is in the Knossos sector in the Artemis Tau region, so you are already in the right area Shepard. They couldn't or wouldn't be more specific than that, so you are on your own from here Shepard. I have been arranging the credit transfer from Alliance command for the various pieces of work you have done thus far, impressive work Shepard, I will forward any other requests I get to your pilot for your perusal. Is there anything else we can do for you Commander?" Looking down at the unconscious body of the lead Asari slaver and remembering the data Garrus had just gotten from the data stores at the base, Shepard decided this was something that C-Sec deal with, probably earning him some more favour with Pallin at the same time.

"Well Ambassador, I need the information packet we have just obtained forwarded to Executor Pallin, I think he will find its contents very interesting relating to an Ms Dantius on the Presidium. Then there is something Chief Williams mentioned that I think is pertinent enough for me to ask the two of you. The stealth system the Normandy has equipped, how difficult would it be to create or retrofit another ship with the same system? Preferably a cargo hauler or salvage vessel?" Udina looked a little confused but Anderson nodded in understanding.

"Found even more equipment on your travels Commander? You are talking about a cutting edge piece of technology that was honestly not going to be reproduced for years if not decades Shepard. I will speak with my contacts in Alliance R&D, but I cannot make any promises..." Udina seemed to understand why Shepard was asking at this point and clicked his fingers before waving it at the screen in Shepard's direction.

"That ship you rescued from the biotic dissidents, whilst it isn't a proper cargo hauler it certainly has much more space for equipment than the Normandy. The Alliance fifth fleet had no need for a ship of its class so I was going to try and secure a sale to someone on the Citadel, but I suppose I could hold it for you instead Shepard. But you would need to pay for it from your own funds, also to repair and crew it yourself to avoid any diplomatic difficulties some of the other Council races who might see us as using you for our own ends. Otherwise I can make some enquiries for you but the MSV Ontario will definitely be the cheapest option available." Shepard considered it for a moment, there were several people who he knew could get to form a skeleton crew for the Ontario if need be, but it was something for him to worry about when he was next at the Citadel.

"I will take the Ontario Ambassador, I will need more than the Normandy if I am going to go after Saren and it will be a means to that end. We can work out cost and paying for it later, but first I need to head to Knossos and find Dr Tsoni before she disappears like her mother. I will let you know when I have retrieved her, Shepard out." As Shepard terminated the connection a groan from behind him alerted him to the awakening of the Asari slaver, who sat up as he turned round to find herself looking down the barrel of Wrex's shotgun, the Krogan in question grinning evilly as he looked down at her.

"Go on scum, use some biotics and make my day." She couldn't use biotics of course, a cocktail of drugs Shepard had administered to her after Wrex had bodily knocked her out would ensure that, but if she tried Shepard wouldn't stop Wrex from finishing her. Luckily, for Dahlia Dantius anyways, she merely sighed shook her head before looking over at Shepard.

"You must be the new Spectre my sister threatened she would contact to deal with me after I 'obstructed' the transport of some of her... Well I suppose she would call them indentured workers. My only question is why am I still alive? I doubt my sister wants a problem like me still around." Stalking up to her Shepard waved Wrex off as it was clear Dahlia wasn't going to try and do anything stupid.

"You are alive because your sister had nothing to do with me being here, though if I wasn't in need of information that would be almost impossible to obtain through normal channels I would have no regrets with removing slaver scum like you from the galaxy." The accusation seemed to actually surprise Dahlia before she seemed to realise something and raise her hands defensively.

"Slavery? I suppose that is what it looks like but I swear my crew had nothing to do with that. These guys" she gestured over to the former captives at this point, many of whom were glaring in her direction. "They were just leverage against my sister for the blackmail money, we were going to let them go afterwards. If you don't believe me check the data on the machine, piracy, smuggling and the occasional kidnapping was what my crew did, anything worse than that was beyond what I signed up for and would have gotten my beloved sister to get rid of the smear on her reputation much sooner." Shepard was unsure at this point, whilst the Asari had seemed very open and honest with her defence against the slavery accusation, she also made it sound like she had decided not to do so only out of the wish to avoid her sisters wrath.

But, with the array of enemies against him with even more in the shadows that he didn't yet know about, Shepard couldn't afford to be picky with where he got his advantages from, not right now anyways. He would decide whether to hand her over to the Council forces later once the analysts on the Normandy had finished analysing the electronic information from the base for anything related to Saren or other useful stuff, along with the information she could provide him in the meantime...


	4. Therum, Hearts and Minds

Therum was definitely a place that Shepard wouldn't mind never coming back to, but with the news that Liara was somewhere in the Knossos system, it was the only place that made sense for her to have been as the other planets in the system were non-habitable to say the least. This was supported by the weird readings the Normandy had picked up as he, Wrex and Garrus landed in the Mako. The other teams were on standby but fitting more than three in the armoured exploratory vehicle was not possible and with the possibility that this Liara was possibly working with the Geth meant Shepard did not want people on the ground unless it could be avoided.

They had landed near one of the mining sites that littered the surface of the planet in the hopes of getting some more information, but the place had been eerily quiet and the mine shafts deadlocked from the inside, putting Shepard even more on edge than he had been before. With no other options, they had continued through the crags and caverns towards where Joker had pinpointed the signal, only for a Geth ship to come out of nowhere and deploy a pair of heavy Geth walkers in their path. Luckily Shepard was a good driver and the Plasma the things fired was slow enough for him to dodge whilst Garrus blasted them with the Mako's heavy armaments.

Shepard remembered shouting down his commlink to about where the damn thing had come from, the poor pilot only able to apologise and state that the planets magnetic fields were throwing off the sensors and if the Geth kept low to the ground there was not a lot he could do. The threat of the Geth was most definitely real now and Shepard knew that they had to hurry if they were going to get to Liara in time, whether to rescue or deal with he still didn't know.

The Geth now knew that trouble had arrived and when they reached a small refinery that was between them and the signal source there were turrets and a large group of Geth waiting for them. That had been a more challenging fight than any he had experienced thus far since Eden prime and if it hadn't been for Wrex's suggestion of flanking the refinery walls, using a smaller, less well defended gorge to the side they would probably have taken some real damage to the Mako. Searching the refinery after dealing with the Geth had revealed the expected but still sorrowful news of what had happened to the refinery staff, butchered to a man in the command room they had all obviously fled to.

With the refinery secured, Shepard called in the back up teams, who would secure the site, collect the dead of both sides for alliance R+D analysis and cover his back from any more Geth reinforcement drops. Hopefully Tali would be able to get some information from the dead Geth about whether they were here to protect or kidnap Dr T'soni. The Geth obviously had used the time he had spent taking the refinery to reinforce their defences as Geth walkers continued to litter towards a large encampment they had picked up on the scanners. The things were ill suited to a more direct approach that Shepard had come up with, namely charging them down with the Mako and knocking the over before unleashing the cannons.

The tactic even worked on the colossal walker that was waiting for them with a group of rocket troopers at the access tunnel to the site, it's larger size making Iran even easier target, though Shepard did not want to know what the things main armament could do to the Mako if they actually hit it. The colossus seemed to be the Geths final line of defence against the Mako, the only thing Shepard encountered from then on were Rocket troopers before they had reached a rock fall at the base of the camp which made it impossible to continue further except on foot. Not that Shepard minded the change of pace, Wrex had been getting impatient to tear things apart anyways...

Time skip:

Jumping Geth snipers, another armature and enough troops to keep even Wrex happy, that is what had awaited them at the excavation site entrance. For the first time Shepard really appreciated the Mako's armaments, the walkers were a lot harder to kill with just basic infantry weapons and biotics. Wrex had gone down to a direct hit to the chest by the Armature, but by the time Shepard had finished the thing off with warp spikes the Krogan regeneration had kicked in and Wrex had just needed a shot of medi gel before he was up on his feet and griping about missing the rest of an awesome fight. With no sign of what had happened to the excavation team on the surface, they had to descend below, Shepard only thankful that the cramped tunnels meant it would make it very unlikely they would face another walker down here.

They didn't, just more Geth infantry as they descended further into the ground than Shepard ever really wanted to, as they followed the excavations of a massive Prothean tower all the way to its base. It was there they found Liara T'soni, though judging by her state of being suspended inside some kind of mass effect field behind a barrier, she was not at her most comfortable or presentable. As Shepard approached her eyes lit up and she started shouting once more.

"Can you hear me out there? I am trapped and need help." Shepard knew from the pictures he had been sent that this was Liara, and unless this was a very, _very_ elaborate trap it was unlikely she was with the Geth that had been stationed here.

"Dr T'soni I presume? Are you okay in there, no injuries? Are there any Geth in there with you?" Liara shook her head and though worried also seemed slightly excited by the prospect of the Geth.

"This thing, it is a security device of some kind, I presume it is Prothean. I cannot move at all, so I will need you to get me out all right? I don't think there are any Geth here, I was exploring the ruins when warnings of Geth above came. It's how I ended up in here, I was trying to hide in here, and activated the towers defences as I knew the barriers would keep them out. Obviously I tampered a little too much and well here I am. A couple of Geth have tried to get in but they have made no headway with the barrier. Can you believe it, Geth! Beyond the veil." Definitely an excitable one, even in her current condition, though Shepard knew he still had one more question to ask.

"I am Commander Shepard, Council Spectre and I am hunting an ex-Spectre called Saren who is commanding the Geth to bring about the return of the reapers. Your mother Benezia is known to be working with them and that is probably why they are here. So the question is, are you with them or not?" The introduction and revelation about her mother seemed to throw Liara for a loop and it took her several seconds before she seemed to process his question.

"I am not on anybody's side, I have no idea what you are talking about. I haven't spoken to Benezia in years, decades in fact. We are nothing alike! I promise I know nothing of what she is up to, please just get me out of here." She seemed genuine enough and Shepard could always question her in more detail later.

"Okay, so we just need to get through this barrier to get to you. Any ideas of how to do that Liara?" She shook her head minutely, which seemed to be as much movement as she could manage.

"It's a barrier curtain, I knew it would keep the Geth out and keep me safe. There is no way to deactivate it from the outside I am afraid, so getting in will be a little tricky. But be careful commander, there was a Krogan with the Geth that were trying to get in before, he seemed to be in command of them." The news of a Krogan was troubling, but given Wrex's eager look Shepard doubted he would have to actually deal with it himself. Looking out over the excavating equipment Shepard saw a mining laser set up facing the tower, aimed a few floors below Liara's position. There were a few Geth guarding it, but Shepard had the high ground and better cover, meaning they weren't much difficulty to deal with.

They blasted through the tower base with the laser and worked their way up to Liara's position on a Prothean elevator, which thankfully Garrus could work with his limited knowledge of Prothean symbols. Coming to a stop on Liara's level, Shepard stepped towards her as she turned her head in obvious surprise.

"Wha, how did you get in here? I didn't think anyone would be able to get past the barrier." She was obviously scared at this point given his earlier mention of Benezia, so Shepard decided to not make things worse.

"That's not important, what we need is to get you out of here before anymore Geth arrive." Liara perked up at this and tilted her head to her left.

"Yes, I think I have seen enough of the Geth for the moment, the button over there should shut down my containment field." Shepard nodded and headed over, a few taps on the keyboard releasing Liara to the floor with a quiet thud. She stood a little unsteadily and brushed herself off before turning in his direction and smiling slightly. "Thank you Commander, I was worried I would never make it out of there or if I did it would be at the hands of the Geth. Now I think the central ring you came up on is an elevator for the entire tower, so it should be able to get us out of here. Come on!" They hurried onto the elevator and Liara approached the console before typing away at the screen with a speed and confidence Shepard could not have imagined. She started talking as she turned around as the elevator started moving, her face set with worry.

"I still do not understand why the Geth would be looking for me, you told me that Benezia was working with the one that controls them, but why come after me? She knows as well as I do that we are not remotely close anymore." The fact that Liara was using her mother's first name in such a cold tone reinforced the story she was telling about the distance between them, but if they were not close, then why was Saren targeting her? It was Garrus who suggested that it was due to her knowledge of the Protheans, which he could then use to find the conduit, an idea that did make the most sense out of what they knew thus far. Any further talk was curtailed by the shuddering of the ruins around them, obviously the mining laser had not been the best plan after all. Reaching for his communicator, Shepard barked out his orders.

"Away team, get back on the shuttles and get back to the Normandy. Joker, lock onto my signal and get here on the double, that's an order." Joker replied instantly, obviously understanding the urgency if not the premise of the crisis.

"On my way Commander, luckily the atmosphere here is light enough for the Normandy to descend into it directly. Eta 8 minutes." Jokers signing off was accompanied by another shuddering of the earth and Wrex growled to himself.

"If I die down here now, I am going to kill him." A sentiment Shepard shared, but would not voice it as it would no doubt make Liara even more nervous. The elevator made good time to what seemed to be the top floor, but the quaking seemed to have knocked out the barriers as strolling through to meet them was a Krogan flanked by half a dozen Geth. As the Krogan came to a stop in front of them it called out.

"Surrender, or don't. That would be more fun." Shepard lamented the bloodlust of Krogans at this point, but he had to try reasoning with him to get them out of here in one piece.

"Just in case you hadn't noticed, this whole place is coming down around us. If we fight here none of us will survive!" The Krogan merely chuckled.

"Adds to the excitement, doesn't it? Thanks for getting rid of those pesky energy barriers for us. Now hand the doctor over." Liara shook her head as she started to glow the tell-tale biotic blue.

"Whatever it is you want, you are not getting it from me." Shepard grinned, any doubts he had about the young Asari were gone at this point.

"I think the lady would prefer to stay with us at this point, thanks for asking though." The Krogan shrugged.

"Doesn't matter, Saren wants her, and what Saren wants, he always gets. Kill them all, spare the..." The Krogan didn't get any further as he was hit by a sabotage from Garrus and a warp spike from Shepard, just before Wrex slammed into him with the force of a small car. Liara was not silent though, throwing two of the Geth troops into a wall even as they began to react. All in all, it was a fairly easy fight, Shepard throwing the recovering Krogan into a wall and allowing Wrex to get him with his shotgun whilst Garrus sniped one of the Shock troops. Geth plasma spat and flickered on his shields, but Shepard had spent quite some time with Tali tinkering his shields so they were more resistant to Geth fire and he was able to move into cover without taking any direct hits to his armour.

Thirty seconds later the enemies were down, but there was no time to check the bodies, the shaking was getting worse and he could see outside the ruins the excavations were collapsing. They ran and Shepard wasn't entirely sure how they got out without being hit by falling debris and killed, but they made it to the entrance and outside even as the last of the tunnels collapsed behind them. Breathing heavily, Shepard's relief was cut short by Garrus' call from behind him.

"Commander, I don't think we can stop running just yet..." Turning to look at Garrus Shepard saw what he meant, the top of the mountain they had just been inside was spewing lava down towards them at an astonishing rate. Joker better not have been kidding when he said eight minutes...

Time skip:

Alliance dock:

Being in the heart of what was in effect an erupting volcano had been probably the most interesting mission report he had ever had to write and then to top it off he had to report to the council. Whilst they had been pleased that he had rescued Liara from the attempted kidnapping by Saren and her mother, the Turian had been very clear with his disdain of the destruction of the Prothean ruins, like Shepard would have had any way of knowing the mining laser would have set the volcano off. Shepard weathered the scathing remarks with practised ease, Alliance command had its own set of politicians and bureaucrats that thought that they knew the best way to complete missions without any ground experience.

The payment the Council had given him for the mission had been more than enough to cover the wages of his non alliance crew as well as a significant down payment on the 1 million credits he had agreed with Ambassador Udina for the purchasing of the Ontario from the Alliance fifth fleet. It was less than a fifth of the normal selling price for a ship in that class, but considering that Shepard had cleared it and obtained it for them he assumed that had been factored into the price. Udina had met him at the dock as he disembarked, with a half dozen marines and a young woman that Shepard didn't recognise, with short cut blonde hair and an athletic thin figure that was highlighted by the military dress uniform she had regulation perfect.

Shepard waved the rest of the crew onwards, after a week of almost constant flight, missions and surveillance all of them could do with a few hours shore leave to relax and recuperate before they went out once more. Tali, Wrex and Liara stayed with him whilst Garrus lead Ashley and Kaidan towards C-Sec with Dahlia in tow, they were to see what Pallin had made of the Dantius information they had found as well as to formalise the deal that Shepard had made with the woman. Dahlia, who upon realising who he was and his history with slavers, very quickly came clean about the three times she had taken part in slavery operations as part of that pirate group. After that she had agreed to every demand of information, contacts and assistance he had asked of her to avoid being handed over to C-Sec, even volunteering some information she thought he might find useful about other pirate groups in the traverse.

Dahlia had desperately claimed that her sister had enough contacts on the Presidium and in C-sec that she would not see the end of the day if she was lucky, she would see the end of the next century in some dark hole if she wasn't. As such, with a pang of conscience as well as computerised results from two separate lie detectors showing the woman was being sincere in every respect, Shepard had conscripted her to his personal detail, it would be there that if she was lucky she would earn a Spectres reprieve, something that a Spectre could use to effectively wipe the records of his closest allies if they had distinguished themselves in his service. Shaking off the mental thought pattern as Udina coughed and stepped forward in his usual imperious manner, Shepard focussed on what was being said.

"Shepard, whilst you were retrieving Dr T'soni I forwarded your scanning data to the exploratory fleet and Vice admiral Stukov asked me to escort Ensign Waters here to explain a proposition he has. Now if you two don't mind I have more important things I need to attend too." And without another word of explanation Udina turned on his heel and headed back towards the lift array with his bodyguards following behind him. Looking at the blonde who was still stood nervously at attention Shepard realised quite how young she was, he wouldn't be surprised if this was her first time out of the academy.

"If we keep picking up strays like this Shepard, I won't have anywhere left to put my trophies." The loud and blunt comment from Wrex brought a small smile to Shepard's face as he watched the girls eyes dart over to scarred and hulking Krogan, obviously unsure of whether to speak or not. To his surprise Tali spoke up in a rebuking tone before he had a chance to.

"Wrex, I wouldn't make the Commander choose between another person and your macabre pieces of gristle, you won't like the choice he makes. Besides, you didn't think I was much to look at at first." Tali left the end of the sentence hanging, the originally shy and socially awkward girl already surprisingly comfortable with baiting the grizzled bounty hunter. Liara also looked similarly out of place, but considering she was still recovering from her accidental imprisonment as well as the news of her mother's plotting it was to be expected. Raising his hand to stall the argument before it could truly develop, Shepard gestured to Waters impatiently.

"Ensign, if you wouldn't mind letting me know why you are here, I have a lot of things to do in the next few hours and trying to cater to the ambassador's mind games is not one of them." He mentally winced at the tone of his voice as he said that, the lack of sleep he had had over the last two days was affecting him more than he thought. Luckily the girl simply pulled off a textbook salute before speaking in a hurried tone.

"Yes sir, apologies sir. I am Ensign Kate Waters of the exploratory first fleet. Vice Admiral Stukov wished me to relay his thanks for your surveillance work over the last few days, the data you have collected has made up for the loss of two of our ships to Geth and pirate activity in the Traverse." The girl paused and it was only when Shepard coughed and waved his hand that she seemed to realise that he was still waiting for more information.

"Sorry sir, I thought that the Ambassador had already forwarded the Vice Admiral's request and this was just a formality. Admiral Stukov had noted that the Normandy had no assigned technical specialist for the scanners and communications systems it houses, due to it being classed as a military rather than exploratory craft. As such, he would like to attach me to your crew to fill this role as well as to serve as your personal aide... Only if you wish for me to join you sir of course, the Vice Admiral would not wish to try and impose on the hero of Elysium and humanities first Spectre."

It was true what the girl had said of course, neither Pressley or Joker specialised in the auger equipment beyond what they needed to complete their own duties, but Shepard wondered how much of this offer was actually the Alliance trying to help him with his mission and how much was it trying to minimise the number of aliens that he ended up recruiting to join him on their top secret cutting edge frigate. With no idea how long he might have before he was needed again, Shepard decided that he could make this decision whilst on the way to his next task.

"Walk with me Ensign, we will discuss this on the way to the Wards, I have business to take care of there. Are you armed?" Waters nodded quickly before indicating the pistol at her side.

"Are we expecting trouble sir? Should I change into my combat gear before we leave?" She gestured off to the side where Shepard saw a suit of armour and a small rucksack were leant against the side railings, obviously all of the equipment she had given she had assumed that he had already agreed her assignment.

"Better to expect it than be surprised by it Ensign, you shouldn't need your equipment though, get it aboard the Normandy for now. If any firing does start then just get behind me and the big guy." He thumbed an indication over to Wrex who merely grunted before going back to grumbling under his breath. Waters nodded and saluted again before moving over and grabbing her stuff before heading to the airlock with the Normandy, one of the crew who had elected to stay on guard of the ship as a skeleton crew moved with her to authorise her access. Turning to his team Shepard spoke his plan to them.

"Now we need to find someone to fix up the Ontario, from what I know most of the engineering companies that do operate on the citadel are in the lower wards, so we will head down there and keep our eyes peeled. Wrex, you are to keep an eye on the Ensign and make sure whatever happens she gets back here unharmed. The last thing we want is to have to explain to Alliance command how we got our newly assigned tech specialist killed before formally accepting the transfer..."

Timeskip:

They made good time down to the lower wards, though the initial three shipbuilding companies that they had found had been far too expensive according to Tali and Wrex. Shepard trusted their judgement as the two had much more ship experience than he did, though at this point he might need to bite the bullet and spend the extra credits if he was to achieve anything else this evening. Waters had been surprisingly informative about the different companies and what sort of modifications they might make to the Ontario, she had been first in her class at the academy both in interstellar communications and ship technology, and so had relatively up to date knowledge on the development fields in civilian grade shipping equipment.

The fact that she had joined the exploratory fleet was a bit of a surprise, many people in her field had callings in the military fleets or on private contracts. When he had asked why she had chosen to do so she had merely reddened slightly and looked away before stating she had been following the example of someone she looked up to. Deciding it wasn't worth digging into for the moment Shepard had contented himself to listening to Tali and Wrex argue about ships, with Liara joining in with slowly increasing confidence as the pair responded to her remarks intelligently and with no hint of derision.

The nice atmosphere was shattered by the sounds of shouting emerging from a doorway up ahead, followed by the sight of a Quarian being thrown bodily out of the door into the walkway, a grizzly looking Turian armed with a heavy pistol stalking out with two more Quarians quickly moving out of his way to try and stand protectively in front of the downed Quarian who was cradling his left arm which was obviously broken.

"You thought I wouldn't notice two non-paying tenants living in my building space rat? Thought you could get away with only paying one person's rent?" The Turian was almost frothing at the mouth at this point, waving the pistol dangerously in the Quarians direction. Before Shepard could do anything, Tali was marching forwards her posture displaying her anger.

"What do you think you are doing pig? Try picking on someone who will fight back." The Turian turned sharply and growled when he saw Tali, pointing the pistol at her and cocking the weapon.

"Thieving scum like you shouldn't argue with your betters, I should..." Suddenly the Turian found himself looking up at Wrex's face whilst the Krogan grasped his arm in an unbreakable hold, the stone cold fury on Wrex's face a clear contrast to the sarcastic biting humour he usually employed. Shepard noted as well with a bit of pride that Waters had her pistol drawn and ready whilst Liara had summoned a barrier between Tali and the pistol.

"You should go back inside before I decide to relieve you of your arm as well as your weapon, split faced cocksucker. I might do so anyway, you did just threaten a Spectre crew member in front of said Spectre." The Turian shrank in on himself a bit before nodding slowly, Wrex taking his pistol roughly before bodily pushing him back towards the door. The Turian turned at the last moment however and pointed at the Quarians, some of his former bravado returning as he made a rude gesture.

"Don't even think about coming back space rats, and I will make sure the other landlords will not let you in. Not even your fish faced brute will help you there." The Turian was inside before anyone could respond, which given the angry blue aura surrounding Wrex was probably the best outcome for all of them. With the situation mostly diffused Shepard made his way over to the injured Quarian, noting the nervous looks the other two Quarians cast in his direction as he knelt down, holding his omni-tool up to scan the Quarian. The results surprised him slightly, the Quarian was definitely suffering from malnourishment and a slight infection as well as the broken arm, though the infection seemed to be in its final stages, which for a Quarians inhibited immune system meant that it had been affecting him for a while.

"Luckily it is a clean break, no bone fragments or tissue damage that we need to concern ourselves with." Applying a splint made from some nearby scrap and a bandage from his first aid kit, Shepard then applied a dose of medi-gel to the Quarian's arm port whilst Tali finished talking to the other two Quarians in the Quarian native language. Judging by the slowly increasing volume and tone of Tali's voice, she did not like what she was hearing. Waters stepped up beside him at this point and started speaking quietly so as not to interrupt the conversation.

"The Quarians are saying that they are trying to complete their pilgrimage sir, but they were robbed by a group of humans within hours of landing on the Citadel and therefore had no way to pay for food or accommodation. The injured Quarian, who they refer to as Kilya no ship, is one of the Quarians that left the migrant fleet almost two decades ago, he runs a small scrap goods and second hand equipment store in the lower wards. He offered them a place to stay whilst they tried to find work, but the general attitude on the Citadel towards Quarians is... I don't quite know the word but I know some of the parts of it are rather distasteful to say the least." Shepard was impressed at Waters translation, most humans would at best learn one of the main council race languages and rely on their translators to suffice for the rest. The injured Quarian was equally surprised, speaking up as Shepard helped him a little awkwardly to his feet.

"You know the language of the Quarians, Kelish human? Most of your kind do not even acknowledge our presence here, let alone take the time and trouble of learning our language." Kilya had been rather loud with his comment causing the other Quarians to turn and stop speaking whilst Waters nodded with a small dusting of red colouring her cheeks.

"I have complete knowledge of all three Council languages and several of their more minor dialects, working knowledge of Kelish and Krogan along with a smattering of Volus, Prothean and Hanar languages. I apologise if any of my translation was incorrect, I have not had much chance to use my understanding of Kelish outside of the academy class." Shepard's respect for the young Ensign went up another couple of notches and he could now see how she would be useful on the team. Something that Tali had mentioned the first time he had talked to her on the ship suddenly sprung to Shepard's mind, which could save him a load of time and effort in the long run. He gestured at the two non-injured Quarians whilst Liara spoke quietly with Waters, something about the Protheans from the sound of it.

"Are the pair of you capable of crewing a ship? Are there anymore Quarians you know that have experienced similar difficulties?" Tali scoffed at this and gestured around, but her tone was surprisingly light and warm as she replied.

"The lower wards are filled with Quarians Shepard, it is the only place most of us can afford to stay in whether we have left the fleet or not. Also, we are not really welcome on the higher levels, most of the other races see us the same way the Turian did there." One of the two young Quarians nodded and spoke up after Tali had finished speaking, Shepard thought it was a she, but for the most part Quarians were thin and lithe enough it was hard to make out distinguishing features easily.

"I am Seratha nar Hrroth, and this is Kiaran nar Hrroth. Thank you for your help with the Turian Krogan, many would have just walked on by. In regards to your question human, both of us are capable of being ship's crew, I have experience with navigation and engine systems whilst Kiaran was part of the ship repair crews back in the Fleet before we went on our Pilgrimage. Why do you ask? I will admit that having inconvenienced Kilya as we have we would not wish to cause further trouble for him or any other of our brethren on this station, so if you know of a job that is not overly dangerous or illegal, we would happily take anything you have to offer." The fact that Seratha had indicated that Kiaran had experience with repair was an unexpected bonus as if they could find a few more with similar skills. Turning to Tali he could already see the wheels turning in her head even before he spoke.

"Tali, take Kilya to Dr Michel on the upper wards and get her to give him a more thorough treatment, make sure she knows you are with me. Seratha, is that right? I am Commander Shepard of the Council Spectres and I am in need of a skilled crew. I want you and Kiaran to gather any other Quarians you know who need work who have cleanish records, I want enough to form a crew for a small cargo hauler and if possible a ship repair team as the ship I am thinking of has suffered some battle damage. Do you think that will be possible?" All three Quarians obviously hadn't realised that Wrex had been speaking the truth when he had spoken about Spectres before, all three Quarian's body language shifted to a little apprehensive and awed. Seratha looked over at Kiaran and the two seemed to have a silent conversation as their bodies shifted subtly. After a few moments Seratha turned back to him.

"Apologies Spectre we had no idea it was you, we had heard rumours of a human Spectre being appointed but actual information is a little hard to obtain down here. I would just like to state that we have little combat experience beyond our basic training for our pilgrimage, so if you are hoping for a combat force to aid you..." She trailed off and Shepard realised that he had perhaps given the wrong impression with his introduction, raising his hands and shaking them negatively.

"No, no I was not expecting any of you to serve on the front lines. I already have a frigate called the Normandy and several combat teams including this one here, so there would be no expectation for you to be involved in that in the slightest. I merely wish to have a second ship that can serve as a transport for any equipment, resources or people that I find during my investigations that we can then sell or return to its owners." There was an obvious slump of relief in Seratha's posture before she straightened once more and pulled a rough Alliance salute, something that Kiaran copied a moment later.

"In which case Captain Shepard vas Normandy, we would be honoured to join your crew and serve under you. Keelah se'lia, this is the best news we have had in months. How many more crew do you think we will need, six or seven? Then we have the repair crews and of course people to load and store the equipment and materials..." The young Quarian seemed to have quite the analytical mind and a good grasp of logistics, so Shepard left Tali with them to ensure they didn't go overboard with the planning and also to ensure that the Quarians would know where to go once they were done. With his biggest problem solved, Shepard turned back towards the elevators to the upper wards, time to see if there was anybody else who had relevant work or information for him to use.

"Cute Shepard, now we are going to have Tali in an endorphin rush for weeks. Do you want me to see if I can get a Krogan merc team together whilst we are here? Might as well go all out if you want to make this a properly multi-racial mission." Shepard chuckled at Wrex's dry comment, whilst it was obviously in jest, the mental image of the look on Saren's face when a dozen Krogan like Wrex tore through the Geth to get to him was definitely worth it...

**A/N: So Shepard expands his team to more than just one ship. In many ways the thing that I think would have been a great addition to the Mass Effect series would have been an Assassin's creed type fleet, which you could send on missions to earn money, resources and special equipment. Same with the fable like thing of buying property and shops, but I imagine if they had actually had that in game there would have been far too many people playing property mogul to actually complete the game.**

**The Quarians are honestly the race I trusted the most throughout ME 1 and 2 and I apologise for those that aren't their biggest fan but I like to think my reasoning for it is fairly solid? It also lays the groundwork for some later story plot that I hope people will like. Next is Feros and that is going to be a 'fun' chapter to write. What do people think? Yay? Nay? Review and let me know.**


End file.
